Those who pursue long-term careers in the military may earn competitive wages and enjoy job stability. They may also be eligible for highly valuable benefits. A military pension, for example, can help people maintain a comfortable standard of living after ending their service.
Not all servicemembers who serve for long enough to qualify for a pension remain married until they retire. Some servicemembers divorce before or during retirement. Then, they and their spouses may end up questioning what may happen to the pension. Understanding the rules that govern a military pension can help people establish reasonable goals when preparing for an upcoming divorce.
The pension may be part of the marital estate
Even though many assets technically belong to one spouse or the other, they may be part of the marital estate. That is as true for career-related benefits, like a pension, as it is for a bank account in the name of one spouse. If a spouse earned their pension during the marriage, then at least a portion of the pension is likely subject to division.
The property division process requires an equitable division of assets. To achieve that, spouses must determine how much of the pension is marital property and how much, if any, of the pension is separate property. From there, they can offset the value of the pension with other assets or divide the pension directly.
State equitable distribution rules are what determine the outcome of property division, not military rules. However, military rules may govern the distribution of the pension. Under the 10/10 rule, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) may provide direct distributions to qualifying spouses who receive a portion of the pension in the property division settlement.
If the marriage lasted at least 10 years and the servicemember spouse had 10 years of qualifying service during the marriage, then DFAS may provide direct payments to the non-military spouse. Otherwise, the spouses may need to reach their own arrangements for dividing or addressing the pension.
There may be more complications in military divorces, but couples are still subject to the same statutes as civilians in most cases. Learning more about basic property division rules can help people work toward a fair outcome as they prepare for an upcoming divorce.
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