Texas QDRO
Texas is a community-property state with its own state, municipal, and county pension systems plus a substantial higher-education ORP population at TIAA and Fidelity. The Berry formula governs the community-share valuation. Each system has its own accepted-language procedures.
A Texas divorce involving retirement starts with two questions: which plan or plans, and how does Berry apply. From there the drafting goes plan by plan. TRS, ERS, TMRS, TCDRS, Houston/Dallas/Austin municipal systems, and the ORP at TIAA or Fidelity each have their own DRO procedures and their own accepted-language requirements. A template from one will be rejected by another.
Community property in one paragraph
Texas treats property acquired during marriage as community property, owned equally by both spouses. Property owned before marriage, acquired by gift or inheritance during marriage, or acquired with separate-property funds remains separate property. Retirement benefits accrued during marriage are community; benefits accrued before marriage or after divorce are separate. The just-and-right division standard governs how the community estate is divided. Equal division is common but not required, and Texas courts retain discretion.
The Berry formula
The Berry approach contrasts with the formula approaches in some other states that apply a coverture fraction to the final retirement benefit (including post-divorce salary growth). Texas does not. The Berry-frozen approach narrows the community share for participants who continue working and earning raises after the divorce.
Texas state-administered pension systems
Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)
TRS covers public school teachers, charter school employees, and most higher-education non-ORP employees. TRS is one of the largest US public pension systems by membership. The TRS QDRO procedure includes a published model order, mandatory pre-submission for review, and TRS-specific language requirements. TRS members generally do not pay Social Security on their TRS-covered service, which has spousal-benefit implications under federal law (the WEP and GPO rules and their recent statutory changes).
Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS)
ERS covers Texas state agency employees, elected officials, and (separately) Texas District and County Attorneys. ERS administers a defined-benefit pension and the Texa$aver 401(k) and 457(b) supplemental plans. The pension and the Texa$aver accounts are separate orders going to the same agency. A divorce dividing both requires both orders.
Judicial Retirement System (JRS)
The two Texas judicial systems (JRS-I for judges who took the bench before September 1985, JRS-II for those after) are administered by ERS. JRS has its own benefit formula and survivor-coverage rules. The order is drafted to ERS-style procedures with JRS-specific allocation.
Texas municipal and county systems
Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS)
TMRS is a hybrid plan covering employees of participating Texas cities. Mandatory employee contributions earn interest at a fixed rate set by the TMRS Board. At retirement, the city matches the employee's accumulated balance (commonly 100% to 200%) and the combined total is annuitized. The community interest is generally allocated based on contributions and matching credits accumulated during the marriage. TMRS has its own DRO procedures and accepted-language patterns.
Texas County and District Retirement System (TCDRS)
TCDRS is the parallel system for participating Texas counties and special districts. Structurally similar to TMRS (mandatory employee contributions plus employer match at retirement). The DRO procedure follows TCDRS's own template. TCDRS has its own pre-submission review.
Major city pension systems
Houston
- Houston Police Officers' Pension System (HPOPS): sworn officers
- Houston Firefighters' Relief and Retirement Fund (HFRRF): sworn firefighters
- Houston Municipal Employees Pension System (HMEPS): most other city employees
Dallas
- Dallas Police and Fire Pension System: sworn officers and firefighters
- Employees' Retirement Fund of the City of Dallas: other city employees
Austin and other cities
- Austin Police Retirement System
- Austin Firefighters Relief and Retirement Fund
- City of Austin Employees' Retirement System (COAERS) for most other Austin employees
- Fort Worth Employees' Retirement Fund
- San Antonio Fire and Police Pension Fund
Each system has its own DRO template, its own pre-submission process, and its own approval timeline. A QDRO drafted against the TRS template will not be accepted by HPOPS or Dallas Police and Fire. Plan-specific drafting is non-negotiable.
The Optional Retirement Program (ORP)
Texas higher-education faculty and certain administrative staff at UT system, Texas A&M system, University of Houston system, Texas Tech, and other public colleges and universities can elect the ORP instead of TRS. The ORP is a defined-contribution plan with most participants holding accounts at TIAA or Fidelity.
The ORP account is divided like any private DC plan. The carrier's QDRO unit (TIAA or Fidelity) reviews and accepts the order. The community interest is the contributions and earnings accumulated during the marriage. For TIAA participants with multi-plan structures (common at academic medical centers and university research institutions), see the TIAA 403(b) guide for the multi-plan consolidation approach.
Private-sector plans in a Texas divorce
Texas community-property law applies to private 401(k), 403(b), IRA, and pension accounts the same way it applies to state-system pensions. The community share is the portion attributable to contributions, employer matches, and earnings during the marriage. The order types are the same as in any other state:
- Private 401(k), 403(b), profit-sharing: QDRO at $700 flat. See the pricing page.
- IRA: Transfer Incident under IRC Section 408(d)(6) at $700 flat. See the IRA guide.
- Private DB pension: QDRO at $700 flat. See the pension guide.
- Cash balance plan (oil and gas, professional partnerships, medical groups): see the cash balance guide.
Federal employees in Texas
FERS, CSRS, TSP, and military retired pay all follow federal mechanics regardless of state of residence. Texas community-property law sets the marital share, but the order type and the administering agency are federal: COAP through OPM for FERS/CSRS, RBCO through FRTIB for TSP, and a USFSPA-compliant order through DFAS for military retired pay. See the FERS and CSRS guide, the TSP guide, and the military guide.
What TOVA needs to start a Texas case
- The plan name (TRS, ERS, TMRS, TCDRS, a specific Houston or Dallas system, ORP carrier, or private plan).
- Date of marriage and date of divorce or separation.
- Date of hire or service computation date for state-system pensions.
- Most recent benefit statement.
- Settlement agreement or proposed terms, specifying community-share allocation under Berry.
- For ORP at TIAA or Fidelity, plan numbers and current balances.
What TOVA does not do
- We do not provide legal advice. Counsel makes the legal calls.
- We do not provide tax advice. The client's CPA handles tax.
- We do not make strategic litigation decisions. We document what the records show and what the plan can administer.
- We do not advise on Texas community-property characterization or income-from-separate-property questions.
For related context, see the order type guide (which order divides which plan), the QDRO rejection diagnosis guide, the forensic tracing guide (for pre-marital carve-outs and rollover histories), and the topics index.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions from attorneys and divorcing parties.
How does Texas community property law affect retirement division?
Texas is a community-property state. Retirement contributions, earnings, and benefit accruals during marriage are community property, owned equally by both spouses. Pre-marital and post-divorce accruals are separate property. The just-and-right standard governs the division; equal division is common but not required. The retirement-order drafting reflects the community-share allocation, which for service-based pensions usually means a Berry-formula or coverture-fraction approach measuring community months over total months at retirement.
What is the Berry formula in Texas retirement division?
The Berry formula, from Berry v. Berry (Tex. 1983), is the standard Texas approach for valuing the community share of a defined-benefit pension at the time of divorce. The community interest is the benefit accrued as of the date of divorce based on the participant's salary at divorce, not at retirement. Post-divorce salary growth that increases the eventual benefit is non-community. The Berry approach is contrasted with the Taggart approach in some other community-property states, which would include post-divorce growth.
What is TRS Texas and how is it divided?
The Teacher Retirement System of Texas is the state pension plan for public school teachers, charter school employees, and most higher-education employees. TRS is one of the largest US pension systems by membership. TRS is divided by a Qualified Domestic Relations Order accepted under TRS's published procedures. The QDRO must follow TRS-accepted language; TRS publishes model order language and offers pre-submission review. The community interest is typically allocated using the Berry formula. TRS does not coordinate with Social Security for teachers, which affects spousal-benefit planning.
What is ERS Texas?
The Employees Retirement System of Texas covers state agency employees, elected and appointed officials, and Texas District and County Attorneys. ERS administers a defined-benefit pension plan and the Texa$aver 401(k)/457 supplemental plan. The pension is divided by QDRO under ERS-accepted procedures. The 401(k)/457 components are divided like a private DC plan. Both are typically addressed in a single divorce, but they are administered separately and may require separate orders.
What are TMRS and TCDRS?
TMRS (Texas Municipal Retirement System) covers employees of participating Texas cities. TCDRS (Texas County and District Retirement System) covers employees of participating Texas counties and special districts. Both are hybrid plans with mandatory employee contributions and employer matching credits at retirement. Both are divided by QDRO under their own accepted-language procedures. Each system has its own pre-submission process. The community interest is generally allocated based on contributions and credits during the marriage.
How are Houston and Dallas municipal pensions divided?
Houston has three local pension systems (Houston Police Officers, Houston Firefighters Relief and Retirement Fund, Houston Municipal Employees Pension System). Dallas has Dallas Police and Fire Pension System and Dallas Employees Retirement Fund. Austin has Austin Police Retirement System and several other plans. Each system has its own DRO procedures and accepted-language patterns. They do not follow the TRS or ERS template. The community interest is allocated under Berry, but the drafting must match the specific system.
What is the ORP at Texas universities?
The Optional Retirement Program is the defined-contribution alternative to TRS for higher-education faculty and certain administrative staff at Texas public colleges and universities. Most ORP participants hold accounts at TIAA or Fidelity. The ORP account is divided like any private DC plan: QDRO drafted to the carrier's procedures, current-balance approach, gains and losses through the segregation date. The carrier's QDRO unit (TIAA or Fidelity) reviews and accepts the order. See the TIAA 403(b) guide for TIAA-specific multi-plan structure.
Texas divorce with a state, municipal, or ORP plan?
Send the plan name, dates of marriage and divorce, and the proposed community-share allocation. We confirm the order type, draft to the plan's accepted language, and pre-submit where the plan offers review.
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