Tax Facts

3591 / How are domestic relations orders treated in conjunction with Section 457(b) “eligible” nonqualified deferred compensation plans?

The Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) rules applicable to qualified plans ( Q 3915) also apply to eligible Section 457 plans, so that the IRC Section 457(d) distribution rules are not violated if an eligible Section 457 plan makes a distribution to an alternate payee pursuant to a valid QDRO.1

Contrast this with a 457(f) “ineligible” plan where a DRO outlined by Section 409A regulations applies ( Q 3541). Although there are parallels, the DRO has significant differences from the QDRO that a QDRO is designed to act on escrowed “plan assets” of a qualified plan that do not and must not exist in the case of a 457(f) “ineligible” plan that is and must be unfunded and unsecured (even if placed in a Rabbi Trust).

1.   IRC §§ 414(p)(10), 414(p)(11).

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