family-law-orders
Family Law Orders
What is a Family Law Order ("FLO")?
A Family Law Order, or FLO, allows a court to direct TRS to distribute a portion of a member's retirement benefit or account balance to an ex-spouse, who is known as the Alternate Payee. This is done via a Family Law Order, or FLO.
- TRS Fact Sheet: Family Law Orders
As explained in the Fact Sheet linked above, a FLO must comply with all applicable law and must be approved by TRS before it is effective on the TRS member or retiree's account.
Each FLO must be submitted on a form provided by TRS. The applicable form depends upon the TRS participant's current status and the benefit that will be payable to the Alternate Payee under the terms of the court order.
Family Law Orders for Active or Inactive TRS Members
If the TRS member does not yet receive a monthly retirement benefit, one of the following FLOs will apply:
- FLO "A" applies if an actuarially equivalent benefit will be payable for the Alternate Payee's lifetime.
- FLO "B" applies if a fixed amount (not a lifetime benefit) will be payable to the Alternate Payee.
Family Law Orders for Retired TRS Members
If the member already receives a monthly TRS retirement benefit, one of the following FLOs will apply, depending upon the retired member's benefit allowance and other factors as outlined below.
- FLO "C" applies if the retiree elected the Normal Form benefit (single life annuity) at retirement.
- FLO "D" applies if the retiree elected Joint and Survivor Annuity Option A, B, C, D, or E and the Alternate Payee is the Joint Annuitant.
- FLO "E" applies if the retiree elected Joint and Survivor Annuity option A, B, C, D, or E and the Alternate Payee is not the Joint Annuitant