Jerry L. Burton - Page 9

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            or percentage of the benefits to be paid or the manner in which                              
            such amount or percentage is to be determined; the number of                                 
            payments; and each plan to which the order applies.  Third, the                              
            QDRO may not alter the amount, form, etc., of the benefits.                                  
                  Generally, benefits under qualified plans are subject to                               
            prohibitions against assignment or alienation (so-called                                     
            "spendthrift provisions").  S. Rept. 98-575, at 19 (1984), 1984-2                            
            C.B. 447, 456.  Before the enactment of section 414(p), the IRS                              
            had ruled that the spendthrift provisions are not violated when a                            
            plan trustee complies with a court order requiring the                                       
            distribution of benefits of a participant in "pay status" to the                             
            participant's spouse or children in order to meet the                                        
            participant's alimony or child support obligations, but the IRS                              
            had taken no position with respect to this issue in cases in                                 
            which the participant's benefits are not in pay status.  The                                 
            Senate report indicates that section 414(p) was enacted "to                                  
            provide rational rules for plan [administrators]".  Id.  Congress                            
            believed it necessary to establish guidelines for determining                                
            whether the exception to the spendthrift rules applies, to ensure                            
            that only those domestic relations orders that are excepted from                             
            the spendthrift provisions are not preempted by ERISA.  Id.                                  
                  The facts in this case do not comport with the requirements                            
            of section 414(p)(1).  Petitioner's employment with Fluor Daniel                             








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