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Last
Modified on
Nov 10, 2026
Military retirement can be one of the largest assets in a California divorce, but a spouse doesn’t automatically receive half of the pension.
California divides the portion earned during the marriage, and the final order has to tell the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) how to calculate and pay that share.
The result depends on when the marriage ended, whether the service member has retired, and how the order words the award. Those points are far easier to settle before the judgment than after a rejected order.
Erica Bloom Law helps Carlsbad and Ramona families with military divorces, and we review the service history, marriage dates, and retirement system to show what portion may be subject to division. A consultation can start with your pension statement and any draft orders.
Key Takeaways
- California treats the part of a military pension earned during the marriage as community property, and the former spouse generally receives half of that portion.
- The 10/10 rule controls whether DFAS pays directly, and a shorter marriage can still produce a valid property award.
- A divorce that becomes final before retirement freezes the pay base and years of service at the divorce date, with cost-of-living adjustments added.
- A later waiver of retired pay for VA disability compensation can reduce the pay available to divide, and a state court can’t order the retiree to make up the difference.
- Former-spouse Survivor Benefit Plan coverage has a one-year deadline for a deemed election request.
If one of these points affects your case, Erica Bloom Law can explain in a confidential consultation how it changes the numbers.
Start With the Marital Portion, Not the Whole Pension
California divides the part of a military pension earned during the marriage, and the former spouse’s share is generally half of that portion.
The Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA) lets state courts treat disposable retired pay as property of the service member and spouse under state law, and California Family Code section 2550 directs courts to divide the community estate equally unless the parties agree otherwise.
Courts commonly measure that portion with the time rule. If a service member has 20 years of creditable service and 10 of them overlap with the marriage before the date of separation, the marital fraction is 50 percent, and an equal property division gives the former spouse 25 percent of the divisible retired pay.
What Does the 10/10 Rule Control?
The 10/10 rule controls whether DFAS can pay a property award directly to the former spouse. When the marriage overlapped at least 10 years of creditable service, DFAS can send the share straight from the retired pay once the other requirements are met.
With a shorter overlap the property interest remains, but the retiree pays the award directly and the former spouse enforces the judgment in court if payments stop.
Jurisdiction is a separate requirement. A court can divide military retired pay only if it has jurisdiction over the service member through residence outside of military assignment, domicile, or consent.
A Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton but domiciled in Texas can contest California’s authority to divide the pension, and taking affirmative action in the case can count as consent, so a member who wants to contest jurisdiction may want to raise it before taking other steps at the San Diego Superior Court’s North County Regional Center in Vista.
What Happens When Divorce Comes Before Retirement?
When a divorce becomes final before the service member retires, federal law freezes the retired pay base and years of service used for the award at the divorce date.
Congress added this frozen benefit rule for divorces entered after December 23, 2016, and only cost-of-living adjustments are added from that date forward, such as the 2.8 percent increase most retirees received for 2026.
A service member who divorces after 12 years of service and retires after 22 generally has the award calculated from the 12-year mark, without the later promotions.
Before you sign, a California military retirement divorce attorney should check that the pension language matches the calculation DFAS will apply, and Erica Bloom Law can do that review with you.
The Order Has to Work for DFAS
Three features of the order control what DFAS pays.
- A property award must be stated as a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of disposable retired pay, or by a formula or hypothetical award when the member is still on active duty.
- DFAS pays property awards up to 50 percent of disposable retired pay, and the combined limit with support payments is 65 percent.
- A percentage award rises with later cost-of-living adjustments, and a fixed dollar award stays flat.
For members who entered service after September 7, 1980, a hypothetical award must also state the high-3 retired pay base in dollars and the years of creditable service on the divorce proceedings, according to DFAS guidance.
After the judgment, the former spouse sends DFAS a completed DD Form 2293 and a copy of the order certified by the court within the previous 90 days, according to Military OneSource.
Payments must begin within 90 days after effective service if the retiree already receives retired pay, or within 90 days after the retiree first becomes entitled to it.
We review the order wording before entry because DFAS can reject language it can’t apply.
Can VA Disability Benefits Reduce the Former Spouse’s Share?
They can. A service member may waive some retired pay to receive VA disability compensation, which reduces the disposable retired pay available to divide.
In Howell v. Howell, the U.S. Supreme Court held in 2017 that a state court can’t order the retiree to reimburse the former spouse for that waived pay. A California military retirement divorce attorney can address that risk in the settlement terms before retirement.
Other Military Benefits Need Their Own Language
The pension may be the largest retirement asset, but two other benefits need their own language in the judgment.
Thrift Savings Plan
The Thrift Savings Plan divides only through a retirement benefits court order that names the plan, states an amount or percentage, and gives a calculation date, because the rules for the qualified domestic violence orders used with private-sector plans don’t apply to the TSP.
The Blended Retirement System uses a 2.0 percent pension multiplier per year of service instead of 2.5 percent under the legacy system for the members it covers, and it adds government contributions to the TSP, so the TSP can hold a larger share of the total.
Survivor Benefit Plan
Retired pay awarded as property ends when the retiree dies, so a former spouse who wants an annuity afterward needs Survivor Benefit Plan coverage. When a court order awards it, the former spouse’s deemed election request generally must reach DFAS within one year of the order, and the coverage depends on the election the retiree made.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a California court make a service member retire so the former spouse can start receiving the pension?
No. Federal law doesn’t authorize a court to order a service member to retire at a particular time to start payments. A length-of-service retirement generally requires 20 years, so a spouse divorcing at 12 years may wait 8 more. The settlement can address that wait through support or other property.
Does remarriage stop a former spouse’s share of the military retirement?
Generally not. Unless the order says otherwise, remarriage doesn’t stop direct payment of retired pay awarded as property, according to Army retirement services. Survivor Benefit Plan eligibility follows a different rule, since remarrying before age 55 suspends it until that marriage ends, so the order should address both.
Is the former spouse’s share of military retirement taxable?
In most cases, yes. Army retirement services states that retired pay awarded as property is taxable to the former spouse and that DFAS sends an IRS Form 1099-R for it. A tax professional can estimate the after-tax amount before you agree to a percentage.
Can the pension still be divided if the divorce judgment never mentioned it?
It may be possible. California law gives courts continuing jurisdiction over community assets a judgment didn’t divide, and an omitted asset is divided equally unless good cause child supports a different split. Gather the old judgment, the marriage dates, and the service records so the claim can be evaluated.
Erica Bloom Law: Your Military Divorce Law Firm
A military pension turns into monthly deposits only when the judgment, the retirement system, and DFAS’s requirements line up, and most disputes begin where they don’t.
Before a judgment is signed, we compare the pension terms with the service dates and the order DFAS will receive, since a rejected order can delay payments until the parties return to court.
Contact our firm today to compare them with what DFAS will pay and what the Survivor Benefit Plan and Thrift Savings Plan add.
