No matter the situation, divorce can be a difficult event in your life. The legal process can be complicated, so we want to make things as simple as possible for you. It's important to consider the impact on your ERFC benefits. Review the information on this page to help you and your attorney become familiar with how ERFC member benefits may be divided in a divorce.
Overview
A Domestic Relations Order (DRO) is a court-issued document required to divide ERFC retirement plan assets as part of a divorce. ERFC is a defined benefit plan and provides a monthly lifetime benefit at retirement, with a cost-of-living adjustment annually, based on the applicable cost-of-living adjustment set forth in the Plan. The dollar amount, or percentage, that a former spouse may be awarded in a divorce settlement depends on several factors but ordinarily is based primarily on the number of years you were married while accruing service under the defined benefit plan.
Before Submitting a DRO to the Court
To facilitate timely DRO processing and compliance with ERFC regulations, please review the following:
A DRO must comply with the requirements set forth in the Regulations and Guidelines to be accepted by ERFC. After a DRO is drafted by your legal counsel, please mail it to the ERFC office for compliance review before submitting it to the court:
3110 Fairview Park Drive, Suite 300
Falls Church, VA 22042
Once ERFC approves the DRO, all parties will receive an approval letter.
If you have further questions, please call us at 703-426-3900, M-F between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.