FERS (Federal) · Retirement division
Dividing a FERS Annuity in Divorce - the COAP, Not a QDRO
A federal FERS pension is split with a Court Order Acceptable for Processing under 5 CFR part 838, and we prepare it for you free.
If you or your spouse worked for the federal government under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), the retirement annuity is usually divided in divorce - but not with the QDRO you may have heard about. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) uses its own instrument, a Court Order Acceptable for Processing (COAP), written in the exact terms of 5 CFR part 838. This page explains how it works in plain language, and yes, our free tool drafts one for you.
Why a QDRO form gets rejected
A QDRO is a creature of ERISA and private-employer plans. FERS is a federal system, so ERISA forms should not be used - OPM will not accept an order written that way. Instead, part 838 supplies numbered model paragraphs that are themselves regulation text, and OPM applies them ministerially: give clear, conforming instructions and OPM follows them.
Every part-838 order that borrows QDRO-style language must open with a required savings statement (model paragraph 001) confirming the court considered the standard terminology in part 838 and that those conventions govern the order. Our preparer builds the order from these codified model paragraphs - identification, the division award, refund and survivor provisions - so it reads the way OPM expects.
How the marital share is written
There are three accepted ways to express the former spouse's share of the monthly annuity: a fixed dollar amount, a percentage, or a pro-rata (marital-fraction) share. A pro-rata share is defined by regulation as one-half of the fraction of service earned during the marriage. One important trade-off: a fixed-dollar award does not receive cost-of-living adjustments unless the order expressly awards them, while a percentage share rides the COLAs automatically.
The order must also say whether the share comes out of the gross annuity, the net annuity, or the self-only annuity (5 CFR 838.306). This is a real choice with real dollar consequences, so our tool asks you to make it deliberately rather than defaulting silently.
Survivor annuity, its cost, and the refund trap
A former spouse's share of the employee annuity stops when the employee dies - unless the order separately awards a former spouse survivor annuity. That survivor benefit can be the maximum or a pro-rata share, and it is not free: OPM collects a reduction from the annuity to pay for it (5 CFR 838.807). Timing matters - a survivor award generally must issue before the employee retires or dies, or be the first order dividing the marital property.
Watch the refund issue: an employee can sometimes take back their contributions in a lump sum, which can wipe out the former spouse's future annuity. The model paragraphs let the court direct OPM not to pay that refund, protecting the award. Our preparer surfaces this as an explicit election.
FERS has other pieces too
FERS is a three-part retirement: the basic annuity (the COAP divides this), the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), and Social Security. The TSP is divided by a completely separate instrument - a Retirement Benefits Court Order (RBCO) processed by the TSP, not OPM - so a COAP does not touch it. Social Security is not divisible by court order at all.
This is general information, not legal advice, and it does not replace a licensed attorney. Federal retirement division has consequences that are hard to undo, so treat the draft as a starting point to review carefully.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Filing a QDRO or ERISA-style form with OPM - it will be rejected; FERS requires a part-838 COAP.
- Choosing a fixed-dollar award without realizing it gets no cost-of-living increases unless you expressly add them.
- Forgetting the survivor annuity, so the former spouse's payments stop the moment the employee dies.
- Not barring a refund of employee contributions, which can let the employee cash out and defeat the award.
- Assuming one order covers everything - the TSP needs its own RBCO, and Social Security cannot be divided by the order at all.
How FreeQDRO helps
FreeQDRO's free preparer generates a part-838 COAP for FERS, built from the codified model paragraphs with your elections - no charge.
Primary sources
Every rule on this page is drawn from the primary law - check it yourself.
FreeQDRO is a free drafting and review tool - not a law firm, not your attorney, and not legal advice. Using it does not create an attorney-client relationship, and it does not replace a licensed Nevada attorney. See our Terms.