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applied to family support obligations and State community
property laws. Subsequent amendments addressed these issues.
Sections 402(a)(9) and 414(p)(8), as enacted by the Retirement
Equity Act of 1984 (REA '84), Pub. L. 98-397, sec. 204(c)(1) and
(b), 98 Stat. 1448, 1445, provide that (1) if a qualified
domestic relations order (QDRO) designates the spouse, former
spouse, child, or other dependent of the plan participant as a
person who is to receive the benefits payable with respect to the
participant, then that payee is an "alternate payee" and (2) the
alternate payee is to be treated as the distributee for purposes
of determining taxability of the payments. In this situation,
the alternate payee, and not the plan participant, is taxed on
the distributions. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA '86), Pub. L.
99-514, sec. 1898(c)(1)(A), 100 Stat. 2951, modified section
402(a)(9), as enacted by REA '84, to provide that an alternate
payee would be the distributee only if the alternate payee were
the spouse or former spouse of the plan participant. In summary,
section 402(a)(9) provides an exception to the general rule, and
where all statutory requirements are fulfilled, the alternate
payee is deemed the distributee. Where a QDRO fails to meet the
specific requirements of section 414(p), section 402(a)(9) is not
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Last modified: May 25, 2011