Updated November 8, 2026. Quick answer: A former spouse can receive part of a Florida Retirement System Pension Plan benefit only under a QDRO that the Division of Retirement approves. Nothing is paid until the member has ended all FRS employment and is receiving a monthly benefit, and the approved amount is then deducted from the member’s benefit and mailed to the former spouse. The Investment Plan works differently: the plan administrator qualifies the order and the former spouse receives a separate account.
What the order is called and what governs it
Florida treats the retirement benefit as a marital asset: “All vested and nonvested benefits, rights, and funds accrued during the marriage in retirement, pension, profit-sharing, annuity, deferred compensation, and insurance plans and programs are marital assets subject to equitable distribution.” The Pension Plan handbook says the benefits are protected from legal process “with the exception of qualified domestic relations orders, certain income deduction orders (section 61.1301, Florida Statutes), and federal income tax levies”. The Division states: “Before an Alternate Payee can be awarded a benefit under the Pension Plan, a QDRO must be approved by the Division of Retirement.”
The size of the Pension Plan share
The Division explains the usual measure: “If the parties were not married the entire time, the Alternate Payee’s share would be based on the years married divided by the years of FRS service multiplied by 50 percent.” The model order adds: “the Plan Administrator shall, increase the amount payable each month to the Alternate Payee based upon the Alternate Payee’s share of any cost of living adjustment (COLA) received by the Participant.” For a member in the Deferred Retirement Option Program, “The Alternate Payee’s share of Participant’s DROP benefit will be deposited in a separate DROP account where it shall earn interest at the same rate as the Participant’s share.”
How and when payment starts
The Division says: “No payment can be made from the member’s account until the member terminates all FRS employment and is receiving a monthly retirement benefit.” Then: “the amount payable each month pursuant to an approved QDRO will be deducted from the Participant’s retirement benefit and mailed directly to the Alternate Payee.”
If someone dies
The Division’s model order says: “Upon the death of the Participant or Alternate Payee, the QDRO becomes null & void.”
The member’s joint annuitant
The Pension Plan handbook says: “If you divorce the person you named as your joint annuitant, you may nullify your designation of that joint annuitant (unless a Qualified Domestic Relations Order prevents it).”
The Investment Plan
The Investment Plan is a defined contribution account. Its procedures say: “After the order is qualified, the benefit assigned to the alternate payee will be established in a separate account.” The same procedures say: “The order may not assign any portion of a member’s nonvested account balance.” On tax: “If the alternate payee is a spouse or former spouse, the alternate payee will be taxed on any distributions. If the alternate payee is a child, the member will be taxed.”
Model orders
“The Division has model QDROs for the Pension Plan that may be downloaded or printed from this site.” The Division also publishes a QDRO checklist and online instructions for the Pension Plan.
Federal tax on a divorce-order payment
IRS Publication 575 describes the federal rule for a payment under a QDRO: “A spouse or former spouse who receives part of the benefits from a retirement plan under a QDRO reports the payments received as if they were a plan participant”. The Form 5329 instructions list the early-distribution exception for “Qualified retirement plan distributions made to an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order (doesn’t apply to IRAs)”. Whether your system’s order is treated as a QDRO for these purposes is a question for a tax preparer; the exception is explained on the Form 5329 exception code 06 page.
What the documents read for this page do not settle
- The Investment Plan procedures and model language are copies of the myfrs.com documents captured by the Wayback Machine (January 2024 and April 2017), because the myfrs.com files were not directly retrievable; they may differ from the live versions.
- The Pension Plan documents read for this page print no fee for dividing or reviewing an order, and do not say who owes income tax on the former spouse’s share.
- Whether a pre-retirement refund can be divided is not answered beyond what the Division’s model orders say.
- The Division’s retiree model orders for Options 2, 3 and 4, which name the former spouse as beneficiary or joint annuitant, were read but are not described here.
Common mistakes
- Expecting payment at the divorce. The Division says no payment can be made until the member has terminated all FRS employment and is receiving a monthly benefit.
- Using one order for both plans. The Pension Plan and the Investment Plan have different approval routes and different results.
- Assuming the former spouse is protected after the member dies. The model order ends on the death of either person.
Related: Florida FRS retirement decisions, the QDRO checklist before you sign, and shared interest versus separate interest.
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Answer againSources
- Florida Legislature (The Florida Senate), Florida Statutes 2025, s. 61.076 Distribution of retirement plans upon dissolution of marriage: www.flsenate.gov
- Florida Department of Management Services, Division of Retirement, Pension Plan Member Handbook 2026 Edition: frs.fl.gov
- Florida Department of Management Services, Division of Retirement, Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) and the Florida Retirement System (FRS) Pension Plan: frs.fl.gov
- Florida Department of Management Services, Division of Retirement, Model QDRO-Option 1-Retired: frs.fl.gov
- Florida Department of Management Services, Division of Retirement, Model QDRO-Option 1-DROP: frs.fl.gov
- Florida State Board of Administration, FRS Investment Plan (Alight Solutions, plan administrator), Qualified Domestic Relations Order-Procedures, The FRS Investment Plan (Wayback Machine copy of the myfrs.com PDF): web.archive.org
- Internal Revenue Service, Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income (for 2025 returns): www.irs.gov
- Internal Revenue Service, Instructions for Form 5329: www.irs.gov
Read from the primary documents linked above on November 8, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer or the IRS itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.