SCERS DROs: Dividing Sacramento County Employees’ Retirement System Benefits in Divorce
What is a DRO?
Employees of Sacramento County are members of the Sacramento County Employees’ Retirement System (SCERS), which is a defined benefit plan. Retirement payments are based on three factors: the member’s age at retirement, years of service, and salary. To be vested in SCERS, members must accumulate 10,440 service credits, earning one credit per hour of pay. Contributions are made through payroll deductions, and borrowing from the SCERS retirement fund is not allowed.
Retirement benefits acquired during marriage, such as SCERS benefits, are subject to division in divorce. This division is facilitated by a Domestic Relations Order (DRO), a court order that must be signed by both parties and the judge. SCERS requires a valid, court-filed DRO to make payments directly to a non-member spouse. The division is governed by Article 8.4 of the County Employees’ Retirement Law of 1937, starting at Section 31685 of the California Government Code
Mandatory Joinder & Obtaining Information
Joinder is a legal process that names a third-party claimant in a divorce case, notifying the retirement plan that a former spouse has a right to a portion of the employee’s benefits. SCERS requires a joinder to be filed and served before a DRO can be approved and implemented. Both a joinder and DRO are necessary for a non-member to receive payments from SCERS. Your family law attorney may have completed a joinder, but QDRO Helper also offers joinder services for an additional fee.
Once a dissolution of marriage action is filed, parties should notify SCERS in writing, providing details such as dates of marriage and separation, names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and contact information. SCERS maintains confidentiality of member records but can provide a valuation of the member’s account upon subpoena or written authorization. This valuation specifies the approximate community property interest that the former spouse can receive as a monthly retirement allowance
Division of Benefits
The most common method for dividing benefits for a non-retired member is to award the non-member spouse 50% of the accumulated retirement contributions and service credits from the date of marriage to separation. Before retirement, a non-member can establish a separate account and exercise similar rights as a member, except for disability retirement allowances and trustee elections. SCERS ensures that combined benefits are actuarially equivalent to what the member would have received without division.
If a member is already retired when the DRO is implemented, SCERS splits the member’s benefits, and the non-member receives a portion of each payment, typically based on the Time Rule Formula
Need a SCERS DRO?
For questions about dividing SCERS benefits due to a California dissolution of marriage or legal separation, or to initiate your Domestic Relations Order, schedule a free consult to learn more about our services and how we can assist you. Our team is dedicated to helping you navigate the complexities of retirement benefit division in divorce.
For specific inquiries about SCERS retirement benefits, contact SCERS at (916) 874-9119 or write to Sacramento County Employees’ Retirement System, 980 9th Street, Suite 1900, Sacramento, CA 95814.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws and regulations may change, and individual cases vary. Consult an attorney for legal guidance specific to your situation.
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Attorneys & Staff
William "willie" peacock, Esq.
Willie is an attorney licensed to practice in California since 2011. He has since added admissions in Missouri, New York, New Jersey, Iowa, Kansas, Connecticut, and North Dakota.
He was born and raised in Missouri, went to high school and college in California, and returned there after attending the prestigious Washington and Lee University, School of Law in Lexington, Virginia. He relocated to New York and relaunched his law firm in 2018, focusing exclusively on retirement—estate planning and division of retirement accounts through qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs).
He has written for Thomson Reuters, Clio, and California Lawyer, and his writings have been cited by the American Bar Association, Above the Law, and other leading legal publications.
He is currently rated a perfect 10.0 by Avvo.com, and more importantly, has a perfect 5-star rating from his past clients on all major review sites.
