Which order applies to each plan?

Private ERISA plans use a QDRO; Nevada PERS uses a PERS-compliant DRO under NRS 286.6703; military uses a USFSPA order; federal civil service uses a COAP (ERISA language causes OPM rejection); the TSP uses an RBCO; and an IRA is divided by a transfer incident to divorce under IRC 408(d)(6), not a QDRO.

How does PERS valuation differ from a private pension?

NRS 125.155 requires a frozen-at-divorce valuation for Nevada PERS and the Judicial Retirement Plan - excluding post-divorce raises and promotions - unlike the Gemma/Fondi wait-and-see rule that governs private defined-benefit plans.

Are survivor benefits automatic?

No. Under Henson v. Henson and NRS 125.155(3), survivor benefits must be expressly set forth in the order. Omitting survivor coverage is the most common and costly drafting failure; the tool flags it every time.

What about Social Security?

It stays out of the division entirely. Social Security benefits are separate property that Nevada courts may not divide or offset (Wolff v. Wolff, applying Hisquierdo v. Hisquierdo), and the tool never nets them against the community share.

Retirement division · NRS 125.155 / 286.6703

Retirement division

The community and alternate-payee shares of any retirement benefit - pension or account, private or public, state or federal or military - computed by the Nevada time rule or by tracing, with the correct order document routed per plan type and every figure tied to the authority behind it. The division math is commodity work; this does it exactly, for free, for you or the attorney assisting you.

What it computes

Every plan type, its own rules

Retirement division fails at the seams: a PERS order valued like a private pension, a COAP drafted in ERISA language, a survivor benefit left to implication. The tool keeps each plan family under its own law and shows which rule it applied and why.

Defined benefit: the time rule

Gemma v. Gemma · Fondi v. Fondi

The coverture fraction - months of service during marriage over total service credited - applied to the monthly benefit, with the community share divided at the NRS 125.150 default of one half. The community runs to the decree, not to separation (Forrest v. Forrest), and the fraction's dates are yours to set.

Defined contribution: tracing

401(k) / 403(b) / 457 / TSP / IRA

No coverture fraction on an account balance. The pre-marital balance and its growth come out as separate property, the community balance divides, and gains or losses to the transfer date are carried - the arithmetic the order must state, not a percentage guessed at the mediation table.

Frozen versus wait-and-see, stated - not assumed

NRS 125.155 · Gemma / Fondi

Nevada PERS and the Judicial Retirement Plan value at divorce - service through the decree, no post-divorce raises or promotions - by statute. Private defined-benefit plans default to the wait-and-see rule of Gemma and Fondi. The tool applies the right default per plan and shows the authority, because presenting one number as legally certain is how orders get litigated twice.

The right order, routed per plan

QDRO · PERS DRO · USFSPA · COAP · RBCO · IRA

A private ERISA plan takes a QDRO; Nevada PERS takes its own DRO under NRS 286.6703; military retired pay takes a USFSPA order; FERS/CSRS takes a COAP, where ERISA language causes rejection; the TSP takes an RBCO; an IRA divides by transfer incident to divorce under IRC 408(d)(6). The result names the document your case needs - then the Preparer drafts it.

Workflow

From plan type to cited shares

01
Pick the plan type
Seven plan families, each carrying its own math, valuation default, and order document. The routing is the part that sinks orders drafted from the wrong template.
02
Enter the service or balance figures
For a pension: the monthly benefit and the service months inside and outside the marriage. For an account: the balances and dates that trace the community share.
03
Read the cited division
The community share, the alternate payee's share, the valuation rule applied, and the survivor-benefit flag - each with its statute or case attached, ready for the decree, the settlement conference, or the order itself.

When the math is settled, the QDRO Preparer drafts the order itself from each plan’s official model language, and the Scrutinizer checks any draft - yours or the one across the table - against the same authorities.

Practitioner notes

Routing & valuation

Which order applies to each plan?: Private ERISA plans use a QDRO; Nevada PERS uses a PERS-compliant DRO under NRS 286.6703; military uses a USFSPA order; federal civil service uses a COAP (ERISA language causes OPM rejection); the TSP uses an RBCO; and an IRA is divided by a transfer incident to divorce under IRC 408(d)(6), not a QDRO.
How does PERS valuation differ from a private pension?: NRS 125.155 requires a frozen-at-divorce valuation for Nevada PERS and the Judicial Retirement Plan - excluding post-divorce raises and promotions - unlike the Gemma/Fondi wait-and-see rule that governs private defined-benefit plans.
Are survivor benefits automatic?: No. Under Henson v. Henson and NRS 125.155(3), survivor benefits must be expressly set forth in the order. Omitting survivor coverage is the most common and costly drafting failure; the tool flags it every time.
What about Social Security?: It stays out of the division entirely. Social Security benefits are separate property that Nevada courts may not divide or offset (Wolff v. Wolff, applying Hisquierdo v. Hisquierdo), and the tool never nets them against the community share.

Informational, not legal advice. An order must be reviewed by counsel and accepted by the plan administrator. Authorities: NRS 125.150, 125.155, 286.6703; 29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3); 10 U.S.C. 1408; Gemma v. Gemma; Fondi v. Fondi; Henson v. Henson; Wolff v. Wolff.