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Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO)
Practical Law Glossary Item 6-580-9569 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO)
A domestic relations order that creates or recognizes the existence of an alternate payee's right to receive, or assigns to an alternate payee the right to receive, all or a portion of a participant's benefits under an employer-sponsored retirement plan. A domestic relations order becomes qualified (a QDRO) after the plan administrator reviews it and determines that it complies with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code (Code), and the terms of the applicable retirement plan.
A domestic relations order:
- Relates to the provision of child support, alimony payments, or marital property rights to an alternate payee.
- Must be issued by a state agency, generally a court, with authority over the proceeding under a state domestic relations law (including a community property law).
In order to be a QDRO, the domestic relations order must include certain types of information and may not include other information. For example, a domestic relations order may not:
- Provide an alternate payee or participant with any type or form of benefit, or any benefit option, not provided for under the plan.
- Provide for increased benefits (determined on the basis of actuarial value).
- Pay benefits to an alternate payee that are required to be paid to another alternate payee under an earlier QDRO.
For more information on QDROs, see Practice Note, Qualified Domestic Relations Orders: Overview and Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Toolkit. For a model QDRO, see Standard Document, Model Qualified Domestic Relations Order for Defined Contribution Plan.