The most important thing to remember if you are divorcing and have or are married to someone with a pension is that it is not only a valuable asset, but most likely the most valuable asset in the marriage.
The pension plan in your divorce is something you should start thinking about right away.
A former client of mine was married to a Lt. Col. in the US Air Force for 34 years. She and her husband had 4 children and had lived, as is a common story, all over the United States and abroad. They had met when they were still in school and were married from her husband’s first commission until one or two years before the end of his career. My client referred to his military retirement as “our retirement.” “Jude,” she said, “I traveled all over the world with that man, for his career, on the promise that we would get to retire together. I never had a career myself. I homeschooled four kids, made the home for him and spent many tours of duty being a single parent for months on end, worrying about his safety. That is why it is our retirement.”
