• DRO Packet For Employees Hired Before January 1, 2010
• DRO Packet For Employees Hired On/After January 1, 2010

Effective January 1, 1997, Colorado divorce law permits a member and a member’s spouse (or former spouse) to sign an agreement to allow the Retirement Plan to pay some or all of a member’s retirement benefit to the spouse or former spouse.

If you and your spouse (or former spouse) decide to enter into a written agreement that requires the Retirement Plan to pay all or a portion of your benefit to your spouse (or former spouse), you should submit a copy of the written agreement to the Retirement Office for review before it is submitted to the court so that the Executive Director can determine whether or not the agreement (after it is approved and certified by the court) will be honored by the Retirement Plan. The Executive Director will notify you and your spouse (or former spouse) of any changes that should be made to the agreement in order to ensure that the domestic relations order will be honored by the Retirement Plan.

After you and your spouse (or former spouse) sign the agreement, it must be submitted to and approved by the court before it can be considered a valid domestic relations order. You must provide to the Retirement Office a certified copy of the written agreement approved by the court within 90 days after entry of the decree and permanent orders regarding property distribution in a proceeding for divorce, legal separation or declaration of invalidity of marriage. In the event that the date of entry of the decree differs from the date of entry of the permanent orders regarding property distribution, a copy of the final written agreement (after it is approved and certified by the court) MUST be provided to the Executive Director within 90 days after the later of entry of the decree or entry of the permanent orders regarding property distribution. The effective date of entry of the decree or of the permanent orders is the actual date of signing by the Court. If you do not submit a certified copy of the written agreement to the Retirement Office within the 90-day period, the Retirement Plan is not required to honor the agreement. It is your responsibility to notify the Retirement Plan of the existence of the written agreement.

The written agreement certified by the court must be submitted to, and received by, the Executive Director at least 30 days before the Retirement Plan can make its first payment in accordance with the written agreement.

In the event you decide not to divorce, not to proceed with legal separation, or not to divide retirement benefits, you must notify the Retirement Office as soon as possible. You will need to provide a copy of the decree so stating and any exhibits, if appropriate.

If you do not provide this information, the Retirement Board will consider this matter open until such time as the matter can officially be closed. When your employment ends, the refund of your Contribution Accumulation or payment of your monthly retirement benefit (whichever is applicable) could be delayed if the Retirement Office does not have this information.