Valuation and Cutoff Dates for Retirement Accounts in South Carolina: Separation, Filing or Decree

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

In a South Carolina retirement division the cutoff is the date of filing or commencement of marital litigation, or earlier if a pendente lite order or settlement comes first. Pensions are valued by present cash value or distribution from each payment, and the order is final.

What date does South Carolina use to stop counting retirement benefits?

The date of filing or commencement of marital litigation: marital property is property acquired during the marriage and owned as of that date, and property acquired after the earliest of a pendente lite order, a signed written settlement agreement or a permanent order is nonmarital (S.C. Code 20-3-630(A)). The South Carolina pension division calculator lets you test any service-month count.

How is a pension valued in South Carolina?

Courts have used two methods: present cash value, in which an actuary values the pension, the court finds the marital share and the equitable share, and usually awards the pension to the employee spouse with an offset of other marital assets; and distribution from each payment. There is no set rule, and each case turns on its facts (Asmussen v. Asmussen, summarizing Martin v. Martin and Belton v. Belton).

Is actuarial evidence required in South Carolina?

For a defined benefit plan the courts typically use actuarial evidence to find present cash value, but in Asmussen the family court accepted contributions plus interest where the only amount the employee could withdraw was the cash surrender value, and the Court of Appeals affirmed (Asmussen).

Does a premarital pension count in South Carolina?

Property acquired before the marriage is nonmarital, and the court has no authority to apportion nonmarital property (20-3-630(A)(2), (B)). Service before the marriage sits outside the marital fraction, which the calculator shows separately.

Can the order be changed later in South Carolina?

The order as it affects distribution of marital property is final and not subject to modification except by appeal or remand after a proper appeal (20-3-620(C)), so state dates, valuation and payment method clearly.

How does the cutoff fit with the rest of the estate in South Carolina?

A retirement benefit is one asset in the estate. See the South Carolina property division calculator and the South Carolina alimony calculator. Whether alimony has been awarded is itself an apportionment factor (20-3-620(B)(9)).

Is growth in a spouse’s premarital retirement marital in South Carolina?

Any increase in value of nonmarital property is nonmarital, except to the extent it resulted directly or indirectly from the other spouse’s efforts during the marriage (20-3-630(A)(5)).

Can property be secured while the case is pending in South Carolina?

The court can order sequestration of a party’s property in the State where a party refuses to comply with an order or an absent party cannot be reached (20-3-650).

What should the paperwork say in South Carolina?

• The marriage date, the filing date and the months used in the fraction.
• Each account and its value on a stated date.
• Whether the pension is valued by present cash value with an offset or paid by distribution from each payment.
• The plan’s order requirements, such as a qualified domestic relations order.
• Any premarital portion claimed as nonmarital.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• S.C. Code 20-3-620: apportionment factors
• S.C. Code 20-3-630: marital property; nonmarital property
• Asmussen v. Asmussen, No. 2011-UP-301 (S.C. Ct. App. 2011) (unpublished): retirement benefits as marital property
• Martin v. Martin, 296 S.C. 436, 373 S.E.2d 706 (Ct. App. 1988): military retirement
• 10 U.S.C. 1408: military retired pay in divorce
• 26 U.S.C. 414(p): qualified domestic relations orders
• 29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3): ERISA domestic relations orders

This is general information, not legal advice. It is based on the cited South Carolina statutes, rules and court opinions, and every case turns on its own facts. Confirm how the law applies to your situation with a licensed South Carolina attorney.