Frequently Asked Questions

As a general rule, retirement contributions made, and benefit credits earned, during the period between the dates of your marriage and legal separation are includable in “marital property” and subject to equitable distribution. You should consult your attorney for further instructions.

Guidance documents on Domestic Relations Orders (DRO) are located on the Active Employee and Benefit Recipients Web pages of this Retirement Systems Web site. The documents for DROs, which divide retirement benefits between a member and a non-member spouse, include a “Guide to DROs,” along with sample DROs for the NC 401(k) Plan, Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System, Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System and Consolidated Judicial Retirement System.   The Guide is written for non-lawyers, although it covers enough detail about the State’s defined benefit and defined contribution plans to be useful to attorneys who prepare DROs. The sample DROs set out various alternate provisions for such Orders in language acceptable to the plans.  These materials should help avoid common misunderstandings about plan features, prevent easily avoidable errors in drafting the Orders, and streamline the approval and eventual implementation processes for DROs at the Retirement Systems and Department of Justice.

Members with questions about DROs should contact the Division’s Member Services unit:

• Active Employees should call 1-877-627-3287 (toll-free) or (919) 807-3050 (Raleigh area only).
• Retirees should call 1-877-733-4191 (toll-free) or 919-733-4191 (Raleigh area only).