104.312. Pension, annuity, benefit, right, and allowance is marital property--division of benefits order, requirements--information for courts--rejection of division of benefits order--basis for payme
Pension, annuity, benefit, right, and allowance is maritalproperty--division of benefits order, requirements--informationfor courts--rejection of division of benefits order--basis forpayment to alternate payee.
104.312. 1. The provisions of subsection 2 of section 104.250,subsection 2 of section 104.540, subsection 2 of section 287.820, RSMo, andsection 476.688, RSMo, to the contrary notwithstanding, any pension,annuity, benefit, right, or retirement allowance provided pursuant to thischapter, chapter 287, RSMo, or chapter 476, RSMo, is marital property andafter August 28, 1994, a court of competent jurisdiction may divide thepension, annuity, benefits, rights, and retirement allowance providedpursuant to this chapter, chapter 287, RSMo, or chapter 476, RSMo, betweenthe parties to any action for dissolution of marriage. A division ofbenefits order issued pursuant to this section:
(1) Shall not require the applicable retirement system to provide anyform or type of annuity or retirement plan not selected by the member andnot normally made available by that system;
(2) Shall not require the applicable retirement system to commencepayments until the member submits a valid application for an annuity andthe annuity becomes payable in accordance with the application;
(3) Shall identify the monthly amount to be paid to the alternatepayee, which shall be expressed as a percentage and which shall not exceedfifty percent of the amount of the member's annuity accrued during all orpart of the time while the member and alternate payee were married; andwhich shall be based on the member's vested annuity on the date of thedissolution of marriage or an earlier date as specified in the order, whichamount shall be adjusted proportionately if the member's annuity is reduceddue to early retirement or the member's annuity is reduced pursuant tosection 104.395 under an annuity option in which the member named thealternate payee as beneficiary prior to the dissolution of marriage orpursuant to section 104.090 under an annuity option in which the member onor after August 28, 2007, named the alternative payee as beneficiary priorto the dissolution of marriage, and the percentage established shall beapplied to the pro rata portion of any lump sum distribution pursuant tosubsection 6 of section 104.335, accrued during the time while the memberand alternate payee were married;
(4) Shall not require the payment of an annuity amount to the memberand alternate payee which in total exceeds the amount which the memberwould have received without regard to the order;
(5) Shall provide that any benefit formula increases, additionalyears of service, increased average compensation or other type of increasesaccrued after the date of the dissolution of marriage shall accrue solelyto the benefit of the member; except that on or after September 1, 2001,any annual benefit increase shall not be considered to be an increaseaccrued after the date of termination of marriage and shall be part of themonthly amount subject to division pursuant to any order issued afterSeptember 1, 2001;
(6) Shall terminate upon the death of either the member or thealternate payee, whichever occurs first;
(7) Shall not create an interest which is assignable or subject toany legal process;
(8) Shall include the name, address and Social Security number ofboth the member and the alternate payee, and the identity of the retirementsystem to which it applies;
(9) Shall be consistent with any other division of benefits orderswhich are applicable to the same member.
2. A system established by this chapter shall provide the courthaving jurisdiction of a dissolution of marriage proceeding or the partiesto the proceeding with information necessary to issue a division ofbenefits order concerning a member of the system, upon written request fromeither the court, the member or the member's spouse, which cites thissection and identifies the case number and parties.
3. A system established by this chapter shall have the discretionaryauthority to reject a division of benefits order for the following reasons:
(1) The order does not clearly state the rights of the member and thealternate payee;
(2) The order is inconsistent with any law governing the retirementsystem.
4. The amount paid to an alternate payee under an order issuedpursuant to this section shall be based on the plan the member was in onthe date of the dissolution of marriage; except that any annual benefitincreases subject to division shall be based on the actual annual benefitincreases received after the retirement plan election.
(L. 1992 S.B. 499, et al. § 5, A.L. 1994 H.B. 1149, A.L. 1995 H.B. 416, et al., A.L. 1997 H.B. 356, A.L. 2001 S.B. 371, A.L. 2007 S.B. 406)