La. Admin. Code tit. 58 § V-105

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section V-105 - QDRO Language

A. Many factors should be taken into account by the drafters of a QDRO in determining which benefits to assign to an alternate payee and how these benefits are to be assigned. Because of the complexity and variety of the factors that should be considered and the need to tailor the assignment of benefits under a QDRO to the individual circumstances of the parties, it would be inappropriate for the trustees to propose specific sample language for inclusion in a QDRO. Instead, individual participants and alternate beneficiaries, and their respective attorneys, are directed to collaborate jointly upon the drafting of orders that meet their individual needs. Nevertheless, if so requested, the trustees shall review any proposed order submitted to the fund prior to its submission to the appropriate court for execution and entry, with a view to indicating the trustees' probable determination concerning its status as a QDRO. The trustees are required by law to honor and enforce the terms of any QDRO which meets the conditions specified in these rules and as may subsequently be determined by the applicable statutes and the courts' interpretations thereof.

B. For further guidance concerning those matters that should be considered when drafting a QDRO (e.g., types of benefits, approaches to dividing retirement benefits, form and commencement of payment to alternate payees, and tax treatment of benefits payments made pursuant to a QDRO) the parties are encouraged to consult Notice 97-11 issued by the Internal Revenue Service and appearing in Internal Revenue Bulletin 199702 dated January 13, 1997. Additional guidance may be found in the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporations's booklet entitled Divorce Orders and PBGC, which discusses the special QDRO rules that apply for plans that have been terminated and are trusteed by PBGC, and provides model QDROs for use with those plans. The publication may be obtained by calling PBGC's Customer Service Center at 1-800-400-PBGC or electronically via the PBGC Internet site at "http://www.pbgc.gov." However, some or all of the principals there set forth may not apply to this fund by reason of its status as a statutory governmental plan and/or the types of benefits payable under R.S. 11:3361 et seq. Thus the rules and regulations shall supersede the provisions of the IRS Bulletin.

La. Admin. Code tit. 58, § V-105

Promulgated by the Board of Trustees of the Firefighters' Pension and Relief Fund for the City of New Orleans, LR 16:501 (June 1990), amended by the Firefighters' Pension and Relief Fund for the City of New Orleans and Vicinity, LR 23:1305 (October 1997), LR 30:1685 (August 2004).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 11:3363.