This is the sixth and final installment of a six-part blog series focused on the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA). You can read the full series here.
 
ERISA does not apply to RRA annuities. Thus, the railroad Retirement Board (RRB)will accept a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) only if it provides for an annuity partition that is valid under the RRB’s regulations.  However, a QDRO is not required to effect an annuity partition if appropriate language is incorporated into the divorce decree or court-approved property settlement agreement.

If you or your spouse have been railroad employees and thus may be eligible for a RRA annuity, it is strongly recommended that you speak to a legal professional to ensure that these unique benefits are properly accounted for and distributed incident to a divorce.