Posted on Jun 6, 2016
Is an ex-spouse automatically entitled to a percentage of your retirement pay in the event of a divorce?
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Does the military automatically grant a percentage of retirement pay to the ex-spouse, or is that strictly a decision of the court in the divorce decree?
Retirement
Divorce
Military Pay
Legal Services
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 93
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I know the answer to this as just went through it!! You have to be married 10 years at least to get this benefit AND he/she MUST request it. In our case, he was active duty 20 years, we were married 10 years I was entitled to a QUARTER of his retirement as I was only with him for half the time he was in. Any thing less than 10 years, I was told NO I was "entitled" to it, but he could voluntarily give it to me. ( if you're going through a divorce, does other side give up money voluntarily???)
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SFC J Fullerton
Thanks Susan. We are going with uncontested, which means we have to agree on the division of assets. We were married 23 out of 26 years TIS, so she is entitled to half of it. My retirement pay hasn't came up yet, as we haven't filed yet, but will in the next few weeks. I will probably offer her 50% since she is entitled and its the right thing to do. Not sure if she wants it, but like you said, does the other side give up money involuntarily?
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CWO4 Donald Wenger
Nobody is "entitled" to anything. What people fail to understand is, the Military Retired/Retainer Pay was never intended to be divided, as it is not a pension. The main purpose is to pay servicemembers a portion of their pay, as they are always subject to recall even after retirement. Retired servicemembers are also subject to the UCMJ. Spouses are not and did not serve.
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When I was getting a separation agreement with my first wife, in Korea, the Army legal officers really pushed her to take part of my retirement, she refused, saying it was my retirement. Once in court, getting the final decree it did not come out or referenced in the final decree. With my second wife, she got 1/2 of 8/20's of my retirement or 20% of my retirement from a state judge in Texas. Which was fair as we were only married for the final eight years of my military service.
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I was divorced in 2011. It was decreed in court that neither one of us would get any portion of the others retirement. We went our separate ways with our own retirement intact. My retirement was military and hers was from the hospital where she worked.
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SFC J Fullerton
I have been for 26, 23 of it in the Army. Probably what happened in your case was that the assets (both retirement pensions) balanced each other out.
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I believe if she dosn't remarry again, if you have chilren together, that she can.
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It all depends on how long you were married and what the court says. If you can prove she cheated for example she may well get nothing as she broke her vows.
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CPO Mike Anderson
Actually Fincen won't send my wife a check or assist her in any way to get my retirement check. As by their rules she is not entitled to my retirement check as we were married less than ten years while I was in the service. She has repeatedly asked me to send her portion of my retirement via an allotment and had her lawyer contact the finance center to see if they could do something and he was told to kiss off as she wasn't entitled. So every month I get to send her a check
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MSG (Join to see)
CPO Mike Anderson - In your case, the court decided she doesn't deserve it. Had you agreed, she would have. If you really want to stick it to your wife, send her one big check, it will alter her taxes and if she is on welfare, for that month, she won't get anything.
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Not the military so much as it's the civil court system, but yes any marriage in over ten years and part of your retire is owed to that spouse
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