Retirement Equity Act and qualified domestic relations orders (1984)
Congress created qualified domestic relations orders, or QDROs, letting state courts divide private pension and 401(k) plans in divorce without triggering early-withdrawal penalties.
Divorce courts gained a standard mechanism to split retirement savings.
The QDRO model became the reference point for how government plans, including the TSP, handle court-ordered division.
The TSP's court order rules parallel this private-sector model, but apply their own finality standard under 5 CFR Part 1653.
