Those who serve in the military are eligible for certain high-value benefits. They can receive health insurance through Tricare and housing benefits that apply to them and their immediate family members. Their benefits help augment their base pay, especially if they continue their service as a long-term career.
Those who serve for extended periods may also qualify for military pension benefits when they are ready to retire. A military pension could very well be the most valuable benefit provided to service members. It can help ensure their financial stability after they cease working full-time.
Military divorces often provoke questions about various benefits. Frequently, a non-military spouse loses the right to most military benefits as soon as the courts finalize their divorce. What happens with the pension benefits accrued by a servicemember spouse in this scenario?
Pensions are typically subject to division
When a servicemember divorces, they are subject to the same basic family law statutes as any other married individual. State laws are what guide the divorce process, not military rules. They need to fairly or equitably divide their marital resources.
The marital estate typically includes any pension benefits or retirement savings accumulated during the marriage. Some people end up confused about pension division because of the 10/10 rule maintained by the military. The 10/10 rule does not actually govern how the spouses divide the pension but rather the distribution of those pension benefits after the divorce.
If the marriage lasted at least 10 years and the service member had 10 years of service during the marriage, then their spouse may be eligible for direct distributions from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS).
If the 10/10 rules does not apply, the spouses or the courts may need to make alternate arrangements to offset the value of the pension using other assets. They could also have the military spouse provide ongoing support to the civilian spouse once they start receiving their pension.
Military rules do not dictate how couples handle financial matters when they divorce. State law or negotiations between the spouses determine how they address marital property. A military pension can easily become a point of contention during a military divorce. Understanding the rules that govern the division of high-value resources can help people prepare for divorce proceedings accordingly.
