§4.09 ERISA Requirements

The federal Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) supersedes state laws related to private employee pension plans. [29 USC §1144(a).] Although ERISA does not preempt state community property law or prevent joinder or payment from a plan to a spouse under state law, it does provide that a private employee pension plan may not be assigned or alienated except by a “qualified domestic relations order” (QDRO). [29 USC §1056(d); Marriage of Baker (1988) 204 CA3d 206, 211-212, 218-220.]

A QDRO means a domestic relations order that [29 USC §1056(d)(3)(B)]:

• Creates or recognizes the existence of an alternate payee’s right to, or assigns to an alternate payee the right to, receive all or a portion of the benefits payable with respect to a participant under a plan; and
• Meets various statutory requirements [see §4.10].