Minnesota Session Laws - 1994, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 386-S.F.No. 2040 
                  An act relating to family law; clarifying pension plan 
                  obligations; amending Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 
                  518.581, subdivision 2. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 518.581, 
        subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 2.  [PAYMENT OF FUNDS BY RETIREMENT PLAN.] (a) If the 
        court has ordered that a spouse has an interest in a pension 
        plan, the court may order the pension plan to withhold payment 
        of a refund upon termination of employment or lump sum 
        distribution to the extent of the spouse's interest in the plan, 
        or to provide survivor benefits ordered by the court.  
           (b) The court may not order the pension plan to:  
           (1) pay more than the equivalent of one surviving spouse 
        benefit, regardless of the number of spouses or former spouses 
        who may be sharing in a portion of the total benefit; 
           (2) pay surviving spouse benefits under circumstances where 
        the plan member does not have a right to elect surviving spouse 
        benefits; 
           (3) pay surviving spouse benefits to a former spouse if the 
        former spouse would not be eligible for benefits under the terms 
        of the plan; or 
           (4) order survivor benefits which, when combined with the 
        annuity or benefit payable to the pension plan member, exceed 
        the actuarial equivalent value of the normal retirement annuity 
        form, determined under the plan documents of the pension plan 
        then in effect and the actuarial assumptions then in effect for 
        calculating optional annuity forms by the pension plan or for 
        calculating the funding requirements of the pension plan if no 
        optional annuity forms are provided by the pension plan. 
           (c) If more than one spouse or former spouse is entitled to 
        a surviving spouse benefit, the pension plan shall pay each 
        spouse a portion of the benefit based on the ratio of the number 
        of years the spouse was married to the plan member to the total 
        number of years the plan member was married to spouses who are 
        entitled to the benefit. 
           Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
           This act is effective the day following final enactment. 
           Presented to the governor April 5, 1994 
           Signed by the governor April 7, 1994, 11:20 a.m.