Learning about your retirement benefits may seem a little unnecessary when you are just joining the military, but this is a good time to become familiar with what you will be entitled to after a long-term military career.  Military service members tend to marry young, and often don’t realize how much a divorce can put their retirement benefits in jeopardy.  Perhaps this is why so many Colorado Springs military divorce attorneys recommend that service members learn as much as they can about these benefits.  There is one specific benefit that every soldier or service member anticipates the most; and that is their retired pay.

Unlike other retirement “assets,” such as 401K plans and IRAs, military retired pay is an ongoing stipend that is paid out as a recurring annuity.  The amount that one service member receives may be vastly different from another, simply because he or she spent a longer time in the military.  But getting a divorce can chip away at this benefit and cause financial hardship for military veterans later in life.  Young service members are advised not to jump into marriage without feeling certain that it will last, and long-term military personnel will be smart to work on saving their marriage instead of getting divorced; but, the nature of the military lifestyle still pushes their divorce rate above national averages.

In a recent article published by the Marrison Law Firm, “A Colorado Springs Military Divorce Attorney Can Help You Keep More of Your Military Retirement,” one learns that the courts treat military retired pay differently than common civilian retirement assets.  One reason for this is the Uniform Services Former Spouses Protection Act (USFSPA), which dictates the way in which military retired pay can be distributed, and at which point the D.O.D. will get involved in the actual distribution of each spouse’s respective portion of it.

Dividing this benefit in an equitable distribution state means the state will need to determine how much of a service member’s military retirement pay is actually considered “marital property” in the divorce settlement and if so what portion of it falls into that category.  Then, the marital asset portion is divided in an equitable manner; just as every other marital asset is divided. There are other ways that a military divorce differs from a civilian divorce besides the division of retirement pay, and an attorney can help you with these issues as well.

If you need guidance in determining how your military retired pay will be distributed in a divorce, consult with a Colorado Springs military divorce attorney.

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