Pension Plan of El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd.. Division in Divorce: Essential QDRO Strategies

Understanding QDROs and the Pension Plan of El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd..

When divorcing couples need to divide retirement assets, few things cause more confusion than a defined benefit plan like the Pension Plan of El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd.. This type of retirement plan is sponsored by a Business Entity in the General Business industry and comes with its own set of rules, timelines, and limitations. Using a Qualified Domestic Relations Order—or QDRO—is the only way to legally and cleanly divide these assets under federal law.

QDROs are court orders that recognize the right of an alternate payee (usually a former spouse) to receive a portion of a participant’s retirement benefits. But drafting a QDRO for a defined benefit plan like this one is not a plug-and-play task. You must tailor the order to the unique features of the Pension Plan of El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd..

Plan-Specific Details for the Pension Plan of El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd..

Plan Name: Pension Plan of El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd..
Sponsor: Unknown sponsor
Address: 5297 W COPANS ROAD, SUITE 300
Industry: General Business
Organization Type: Business Entity
Status: Active
EIN: Unknown
Plan Number: Unknown
Effective Date: Unknown
Plan Year: Unknown to Unknown
Participants: Unknown
Other Dates of Interest: 2024-01-01 through 2024-07-31

The plan’s status as a defined benefit plan means it promises a specified monthly payout upon retirement based on formulas like years of service and average salary. That formula, not an account balance, determines what’s divided.

What Makes Defined Benefit Plans Like This One Tricky in Divorce

Unlike defined contribution plans (like a 401(k)), a defined benefit plan doesn’t show a clear balance you can split. Instead, you’re working with future benefits based on actuarial factors. That makes accuracy key when dividing the Pension Plan of El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd.. during a divorce.

Vesting Schedules and Forfeitures

Defined benefit plans commonly use vesting schedules to determine what portion of the benefit a participant actually owns. If the employee hasn’t met the service requirements, the benefit may not yet be earned. In a QDRO, we must account for unvested benefits. Your order should clearly state how the alternate payee’s share is treated if the participant doesn’t reach full vesting or if certain benefits are later forfeited.

Loan Balances and Repayment

While loans are more common in defined contribution plans, some defined benefit plans may allow them or affect payments if prior overpayments or offsets have been applied. Your QDRO should specify if loan balances or repayments should affect the alternate payee’s share. In most cases, we recommend excluding loans from the assigned share unless both parties agree otherwise.

Traditional vs. Roth Distinctions

Defined benefit plans typically don’t involve Roth assets—since they’re not based on account-type contributions—but if any are linked or bundled with other plans, we’ll need to ensure only the traditional defined benefit component of the Pension Plan of El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd.. is addressed. Mixing assets across plan types in a QDRO is one of the most common mistakes you want to avoid.

How to Properly Divide the Pension Plan of El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd..

Choosing the Method of Division

Most QDROs for defined benefit plans like this one use a shared interest method or separate interest method:

Shared Interest: The former spouse receives payments only when the employee does.
Separate Interest: The alternate payee gets their own independent stream of future benefits, beginning at permitted retirement age.

Separate interest generally offers more flexibility, especially for former spouses nearing retirement. But not all plans allow it. We confirm this with the plan administrator during the QDRO drafting process.

Valuation Dates and Timing

It’s critical to use a clear valuation date—for example, the date of separation or divorce. Failing to specify this can lead to disputes later. For the Pension Plan of El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd.., we recommend explicitly stating the exact cut-off so the benefit calculated doesn’t unintentionally include post-marriage service.

Required Documentation: Be Ready

The plan administrator for the Pension Plan of El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd.. may require documentation beyond the QDRO. This might include:

Copy of the divorce judgment
Plan summary description (SPD)
Plan contact details, if available
Participant data, like dates of service or benefit statements

Even though the plan’s EIN and plan number are currently unknown, this information typically becomes available once the plan administrator is contacted or requires processing. At PeacockQDROs, we help our clients identify and provide these documents as part of our full-service QDRO support.

What PeacockQDROs Does Differently

At PeacockQDROs, we’ve completed thousands of QDROs from start to finish. That means we don’t just draft the order and leave you to figure out the rest. We handle the drafting, preapproval (if applicable), court filing, submission, and follow-up with the plan administrator. That’s what sets us apart from firms that only prepare the document and hand it off to you.

We maintain near-perfect reviews and pride ourselves on a track record of doing things the right way. Defined benefit plan QDROs like the one for the Pension Plan of El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd.. require experience and attention to detail—especially when the stakes include your financial security at retirement.

See our popular resources to understand the process better:

Final Pro Tips for Dividing This Plan

Don’t assume you can access a lump sum. Defined benefit payments are periodic and calculated on life expectancy and employment data.
Make sure survivor benefits are addressed. If the participant dies first, does the alternate payee receive anything? That has to be written into the order.
Confirm whether the Pension Plan of El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd.. allows early retirement and whether that affects benefit calculation.
Define “marital portion” clearly—preferably by using a formula that multiplies service time during the marriage by the total benefit earned.