Pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, a new military retirement system goes into effect at the start of the 2018 calendar year. The new military retirement system, called the Blended Retirement System (BRS), may impact the division of marital assets in divorce matters involving military families. To find out if you or a family member may be impacted, read more here.
Retirement benefits often, although not always, address a significant portion of the martial assets to be distributed between divorcing parties. For military families, all persons who enter the military on or after January 1, 2018 will automatically be enrolled in the new Blended Retirement System. The BRS incorporates a savings and investment plan called the Thrift Savings Plan (defined contribution) plan and incorporates the traditional legacy retirement pension (defined benefit) plan.
All members serving as of December 31, 2017 are grandfathered under the legacy retirement system. Certain active members of the military will have the ability to opt into the new Blended Retirement System. Currently, eligible military members who wish to opt into the new Blended Retirement System must make the election to do so during the calendar year 2018.
For more on military retirement benefits in divorce, contact us online today. For a consultation, call (301) 563-6685 or toll-free at 1-888-558-7871.
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