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

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

In a Washington retirement division the statute names no cutoff or valuation date. Courts use a lump sum with present value or share payments as they come in, and the Supreme Court has allowed a projected retirement age instead of the earliest date.

What date does Washington use to stop counting retirement benefits?

The statute names none. The economic circumstances of each spouse are measured when the division of property is to take effect (26.09.080(4)), and the Court of Appeals notes that retirement benefits are community property to the extent earned during the marriage (Court of Appeals decision). A settlement should state the date used. The Washington pension division calculator lets you test any service-month count.

How is a pension divided in Washington?

Courts have used two methods for a community pension: the lump sum method, in which the court finds the present value and offsets it with other property, and the pay-as-it-comes-in method, in which the other spouse shares the payments when they are made (Marriage of Wright).

What date is used for the present value in Washington?

In Wright the Washington Supreme Court held that a trial court’s present value of a community pension need not be based on the employee spouse’s earliest retirement date: the trial court used a projected retirement age of 65, giving a lower present value than the earliest date would (Wright; PLANSPONSOR reporting).

Does a premarital pension count in Washington?

Retirement benefits are community property only to the extent earned during the marriage, so service before the marriage sits outside the community fraction; the calculator shows that part separately.

What did the parties in Wright do about separate property in Washington?

The couple had a community property agreement that converted separate property into community property, which is why the premarital part of the pension was treated as community there; check whether you have such an agreement.

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

A retirement benefit is one asset in the estate. See the Washington property division calculator and the Washington alimony calculator.

Does military duty change a custody case in Washington?

The effect of a parent’s military duties potentially impacting parenting functions cannot by itself be a substantial change of circumstances for a permanent modification (26.09.260(1)).

Does the statute address when a party can ask for maintenance in Washington?

The court may grant maintenance in a dissolution, legal separation or declaration of invalidity proceeding, in amounts and for periods that are just, without regard to misconduct (26.09.090(1)).

What about the family home in Washington?

The desirability of awarding the family home or the right to live there for reasonable periods to the spouse with whom the children reside the majority of the time is part of the economic circumstances factor (26.09.080(4)).

Does a premarital pension count in Washington?

Only the part earned during the marriage is community; service before the marriage sits outside the fraction, and the calculator shows it separately.

What should the paperwork say in Washington?

• The marriage date, the date used to end the community and the months in the fraction.
• Each account and its value on a stated date.
• Whether the pension is paid as it comes in or valued now with an offset, and the retirement age assumed.
• The plan’s order requirements, such as a qualified domestic relations order.
• Any premarital portion claimed as separate.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• RCW 26.09.080: disposition of property and liabilities
• RCW 26.09.090: maintenance orders
• Washington Court of Appeals: division of a LEOFF retirement plan
• In re Marriage of Wright (Wash. 2002): pension methods and present value
• Petition for review to the Washington Supreme Court describing the time rule
• 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 Washington statutes, rules and court opinions, and every case turns on its own facts. Confirm how the law applies to your situation with a licensed Washington attorney.