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

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

In a Tennessee retirement division, marital property is acquired during the marriage up to the final divorce hearing and owned at filing, and retirement benefits are valued as near as possible to the divorce date. Pension rights accrued before the marriage stay separate.

What date does Tennessee use to stop counting retirement benefits?

Marital property is property acquired during the marriage up to the date of the final divorce hearing and owned as of the date the complaint was filed, including any property to which a right was acquired up to the final hearing, valued as of a date as near as reasonably possible to the final hearing (T.C.A. 36-4-121(b)(1)(A)). The Tennessee pension division calculator lets you test any service-month count.

When is a retirement benefit valued in Tennessee?

As near as possible to the date of the divorce: the Supreme Court says the value of retirement benefits must be determined at a date as near as possible to the date of the divorce (Cohen v. Cohen). Marital property is valued as near as possible to the date of the order finally dividing it.

How do courts divide a vested pension in Tennessee?

In Leggett, a vested pension already in pay status, the trial court worked out the benefit vested at the date of marriage and the growth since, and the award to the other spouse was a percentage of the marital part (Leggett v. Leggett). Courts choose the method on the facts; present cash value and deferred payment are both used.

Does a premarital pension count in Tennessee?

Pension benefits accrued from employment before the marriage, with their appreciation, are separate property, so only the part accrued during the marriage is divisible (36-4-121(b)(2)). Service before the marriage sits outside the marital fraction, which the calculator shows separately.

Does property acquired after filing count in Tennessee?

Property acquired by either spouse up to the final hearing and owned at filing is marital, and property to which a right was acquired up to the final hearing is included; ask a licensed Tennessee attorney how a plan’s post-filing accruals are treated in your case.

How does the cutoff fit with the rest of the estate in Tennessee?

A retirement benefit is one asset in the estate. See the Tennessee property division calculator and the Tennessee alimony calculator. Lump-sum retirement distributions used to complete a property division are not income for alimony (36-5-121(j)).

Can a pension be paid before the plan holder retires in Tennessee?

That depends on the plan and the order: the plan decides when an alternate payee can be paid, so ask the plan before the decree is drafted.

Does a spouse have to contribute directly to the pension in Tennessee?

No. Courts have held a pension marital property even though the other spouse did not contribute to it directly, since it accrued during the marriage (Leggett, citing earlier Tennessee decisions).

Is a pension in pay status divided in Tennessee?

Yes. In Leggett the husband had already begun receiving a vested pension before the divorce hearing, and it was still divided as marital property in part (Leggett).

What should the paperwork say in Tennessee?

• The marriage date, the date used as the end of the marital period and the months 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 as it comes in.
• The plan’s order requirements, such as a qualified domestic relations order.
• Any premarital portion claimed as separate.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• T.C.A. 36-4-121: distribution of marital property (statutory text)
• T.C.A. 36-5-121: spousal support
• Cohen v. Cohen, 937 S.W.2d 823 (Tenn. 1996): unvested retirement benefits as marital property
• Oaks v. Oaks (Tenn. Ct. App.): pension increases during the marriage are marital property
• Leggett v. Leggett (Tenn. Ct. App.): dividing a vested pension
• 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 Tennessee statutes, rules and court opinions, and every case turns on its own facts. Confirm how the law applies to your situation with a licensed Tennessee attorney.