Opinion ID: 20895
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Surviving Spouse Annuity

Text: 38 Regarding any claim that Janice could possibly have asserted to all or any portion of the survivor's pension ---- again, it does not appear to us that she is asserting any such claim ---- the district court correctly determined that neither under any provision of the Plan nor under ERISA generally could Janice be deemed a surviving spouse in the context of Jack's QJ&SA: She was no longer married to Jack (1) during the applicable election period, (2) on the annuity starting date, or (3) at his death. In fact, they had been divorced for more than a year prior to any of those events. The district court correctly determined that as an alternate payee (and thus a beneficiary) by virtue of her QDRO, Janice did not obtain status as a surviving spouse (Qualified Spouse) or any interest in the survivor annuity under the provisions of Jack's QJ&SA. Section 1056(d)(3)(C) requires that a domestic relations order clearly specify, inter alia, the amount or percentage of the participant's benefits to be paid to the alternate payee. The QDRO is silent on the issue of survivor's rights; the only Plan benefit of Jack's addressed in the QDRO is the one from which the QDRO specifies Janice's $302 per month was to be paid, unmis 39 takably the participant annuity. 22 Conversely, the monthly payment specified in the QDRO had no relationship whatsoever to the surviving spouse annuity facet of Jack's QJ&SA. 23 The domestic order nowhere designates her as the surviving or qualified spouse for purposes of any survivor benefit that is specifically allowed under the Internal Revenue Code. 24