OAR 459-050-0200: Court Orders

The purpose of this rule is to describe the procedures for the administration of a court order and the requirements for a court order to be approved as a Qualified Domestic Relations Order. (1) Legal requirements. A final court order or judgment must clearly specify the amount awarded to an alternate payee from the participant’s Deferred Compensation Account, Designated Roth Account, or a combination of both, and the language must be administrable under ORS Chapter 243.507 and OAR chapter 459, division 50. Subject to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code and Oregon law, including these administrative rules, the Deferred Compensation Program will segregate an alternate payee’s award from a participant’s account once it has determined that the court order meets the requirements of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). (2) Requirements of a QDRO. The Deferred Compensation Program may approve a court order as a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO), if the following conditions are satisfied: (a) The Deferred Compensation Program office has received the QDRO; (b) The QDRO includes a specific percentage or dollar amount to be awarded to the alternate payee from the participant’s account; and (c) The QDRO directs the Deferred Compensation Program to segregate the participant’s account or otherwise assign the amount of the award from the participant’s account, and deposit the award amount in a separate account in the name of the alternate payee as of a date specified in the order. (3) Final court order. A final court order is required. The Deferred Compensation Program may not divide a participant’s account(s) or make a payment to or on behalf of an alternate payee upon receipt of a draft court order. The Deferred Compensation Program will divide the account(s) so long as the other requirements under the Internal Revenue Code and Oregon law including these rules have been met, upon subsequent receipt of a certified copy of a final court order that specifies the action(s) required by the Deferred Compensation Program concerning the alternate payee’s award. (a) All certified copies must be subsequently reviewed and approved by staff as administrable pursuant to ORS 243.507, and OAR chapter 459, division 050, before the Deferred Compensation Program shall disburse funds from an account to which a QDRO applies or an order is currently under review for determination of QDRO status. (b) Staff shall provide a written explanation to the participant and the alternate payee(s) as soon as practicable setting out the Deferred Compensation Program’s determination whether a final court order can be administered by the Deferred Compensation Program as a QDRO. (c) Case-specific award information shall be provided to attorneys or other representatives of a participant or an alternate payee only if a participant release or an alternate payee release has been received by the Deferred Compensation Program, as described in OAR 459-050-0001. (4) The Deferred Compensation Program may, in its discretion, accept or reject any court order, or any portion thereof. The Deferred Compensation Program shall provide a written explanation of any rejection as soon as practicable to the participant and the alternate payee, as well as to their attorneys if a release, as defined in OAR 459-050-0001, has been filed with the Deferred Compensation Program. (5) The Deferred Compensation Program may require a court-approved modification to enable the Deferred Compensation Program to comply with the order and the parties’ intent, and so that the Deferred Compensation Program may administer the court order according to applicable Oregon and federal law. For example, if the Deferred Compensation Program determines that a court order is unclear or silent with regard to the alternate payee’s right to all or a portion of the participant’s Deferred Compensation account, the Deferred Compensation Program may not approve the court order until a court order is received that clearly states what comprises the alternate payee’s award. (6) The court order must not require the Deferred Compensation Program to: (a) Provide any type or form of distribution or any option not otherwise provided under the plan; and (b) Monitor any designations of beneficiary(s) for compliance with the designation of beneficiary requirements in the court order. (7) An original or certified copy of a final court order must be received by the Deferred Compensation Program, by mail or delivered in person, before the Deferred Compensation Program shall commence paying benefits to or on behalf of an alternate payee. The Deferred Compensation Program in its discretion may accept a legible photocopy of a final court order, either by mail or delivered in person, as long as the Deferred Compensation Program can confirm it was filed with the court. If the Deferred Compensation Program cannot confirm that the order was filed with the court, the Deferred Compensation Program shall, within a reasonable time thereafter, notify the party who submitted the order that an original or certified copy of the final court order is required. (8) In the absence of a final court order, a restraining order, injunction, or stay must be filed with the Deferred Compensation Program in order to prevent the distribution of any funds to a participant. Except as may otherwise be allowed by law, a subsequent court order shall be required in order to allow future distributions. (9) If a final court order states that another court order shall follow, a certified copy of the subsequent court order must be received and approved by staff before any payment shall be made pursuant to the court order. (10) Discontinuation of domestic action. A confirmation signed and notarized by both the participant and the alternate payee is received by the Deferred Compensation Program, stating that all divorce or other domestic actions have been dismissed or abandoned, and that no final decree or court order shall be forth-coming. If no restraining order, injunction, or stay is on file with the Deferred Compensation Program, there shall be no further obligation or responsibility on the Deferred Compensation Program to correspond or communicate with any person other than the participant and no distribution may be made to anyone other than the participant or the participant’s beneficiary(s). (11) Draft court orders. If the Deferred Compensation Program does not receive a final court order within 12 months after the date the Deferred Compensation Program received the draft court order, the Deferred Compensation Program shall consider that no award was made to an alternate payee from the participant’s Deferred Compensation account. There shall be no further obligation or responsibility on the part of the Deferred Compensation Program to correspond or communicate with any person other than the participant and no payment shall be distributed to anyone other than the participant or the participant’s beneficiary(s). (12) Review of draft court orders. Upon request, the Deferred Compensation Program may review draft court orders that contain language pertaining to the division of a participant’s deferred compensation account. Staff shall provide a written response as soon as practicable to the submitting party and shall send a copy of the response to the other persons named in the draft court order if mailing addresses are provided. (13) The Deferred Compensation Program is not responsible for the safekeeping or return of any court orders, whether draft or final, that are received. The Deferred Compensation Program staff may not modify, return, or sign and return, any documents that are received by the Deferred Compensation Program. (14) Prospective award. If the Deferred Compensation Program has already generated distribution checks to the participant for the first of the month following the date the final court order was received and the court order meets the requirements of this rule, Oregon law, and the Internal Revenue Code, the Deferred Compensation Program shall: (a) Pay distribution to the participant, notwithstanding the court order. The distribution payment shall be deemed by the Deferred Compensation Program as received by the participant. (b) Establish an alternate payee’s award on a prospective basis only and may not pay retroactive distributions of any kind. Payment of future distributions to an alternate payee shall be made as soon as administratively feasible. (15) If a final court order is received after a participant has received a distribution of his or her full account balance, the Deferred Compensation Program may not invoice the participant for any funds that may have been awarded to the alternate payee.