QDRO by State
How retirement is divided in divorce in each state, including state public-employee systems and the correct court order. TOVA works on QDROs and retirement division in all 50 states; these are the guides built so far.
Each guide below covers one state: the public-employee systems an attorney is most likely to see there, the formula the state's courts use to set the marital share of a pension, and the type of court order each plan accepts. TOVA's home office is in Plainview, New York, with a second office in Lakewood, Colorado, so those two states lead the list. The rest follow alphabetically.
Home states
Where TOVA's two offices are.
More state guides
Alphabetical, with the state systems and division formula each guide covers.
California QDRO
CalPERS Model A vs B, CalSTRS, UC Retirement Plan, LACERA, 1937 Act counties. Brown formula.
ConnecticutConnecticut QDRO
SERS, MERS, TRB, Yale and UConn TIAA plans, private plans, coverture approach.
FloridaFlorida QDRO
FRS Pension Plan, FRS Investment Plan, DROP, local pensions, private plans.
IllinoisIllinois QDRO
IMRF, SURS, TRS Illinois, CTPF and the six Chicago funds, Cook County. QILDRO statutory order.
MassachusettsMassachusetts QDRO
MSERS, MTRS, Boston Retirement, the 100+ PERAC boards. Option A/B/C locks at retirement.
New JerseyNew Jersey QDRO
PERS, PFRS, TPAF, ABP at TIAA, Port Authority, private plans, NJ coverture approach.
OhioOhio QDRO
OPERS, STRS Ohio, SERS Ohio, OP&F, HPRS. Division of Property Order. Plan-type elections.
PennsylvaniaPennsylvania QDRO
PSERS, SERS Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh pensions, PMRS. Berrington coverture.
TexasTexas QDRO
TRS, ERS, TMRS, TCDRS, Houston/Dallas/Austin city pensions, ORP at TIAA. Berry formula.
VirginiaVirginia QDRO
VRS, SPORS, VaLORS, JRS, Hybrid Plan DB+DC, Fairfax County, Northern Virginia federal overlap.
WashingtonWashington QDRO
DRS systems (PERS, TRS, LEOFF, PSERS), Plan 1/2/3 tiers, Seattle SCERS, HERP higher-ed.
Do not see your state? TOVA prepares QDROs and retirement division orders nationwide. The guides above are the states with the most attorney demand so far, and more are added over time. For the order-type question that comes up in every state, see the QDRO vs COAP vs RBCO vs DRO guide. For the full library of process and plan-specific guides, see Topics.
By Denisa Tova-Liebman, MBA, CFP, CDFA, CQS