§ 9-3-426 — Benefits, allowances and contents of account exempt from taxation and not subject to execution or attachment; assignment limited; qualified domestic relations order; system assets

Wyoming § 9-3-426

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 09: Administration of the Government
• Ch. 3: COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
• Art. 4: RETIREMENT

Text

(a) The benefits and allowances and the cash and
securities in the account created by this article:
(i) Are exempt from any state, county or municipal
tax of this state;
(ii) Are not subject to execution or attachment by
trustee process or otherwise, in law or equity, or under any
other process whatsoever;
(iii) Shall not be used for any purpose other than a
purpose specified in W.S. 9-3-407(c); and
(iv) Are not assignable except as specifically
provided in this article.
(b) Repealed by Laws 1993, ch. 149, § 2.
(c) The retirement system including the Wyoming state
highway patrol, game and fish warden and criminal investigator
retirement program, any paid firemen's pension plan established
under the firemen's pension account created by W.S. 15-5-202 and
any plan through the volunteer firefighter, EMT and search and
rescue pension account established under W.S. 35-9-617, shall
pay retirement benefits in accordance with any qualified
domestic relations order for the payment of a specified
percentage of a member's benefits or account to an alternate
payee, for a specified number of payments or period of time and
from a specified retirement plan. Upon request of the alternate
payee, a lump sum refund of the alternate payee's percentage of
the member's account shall be paid pursuant to the qualified
domestic relations order. Acceptance by the alternate payee of
the lump sum refund terminates his right to any further payment
or benefit provided by the retirement system. Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, the retirement system is exempt from
the qualified order unless:
(i) Benefits are paid pursuant to the amount, type,
form and options otherwise available under the retirement system
and except as otherwise provided under this subsection, are paid
upon or after the member's retirement or separation from
service; and
(ii) Joint survivor benefit options are not available
to alternate payees.
(iii) Repealed by Laws 1995, ch. 89, § 2.
(d) The board shall review submitted domestic relations
orders and shall promulgate rules and regulations for the
determination of the qualified status of a submitted order and
for the administration of distributions under the qualified
order. Upon a determination that an order is qualified, the
board shall notify the participating member and the named
alternate payee of the qualified order.
(e) For purposes of this section, "qualified domestic
relations order" means any judgment, decree or order including
approval of a property settlement agreement, which:
(i) Relates to the provision of child or spousal
support or to marital property rights of a spouse, former
spouse, child or other dependent of a member;
(ii) Is made pursuant to the domestic relations law
of any state; and
(iii) Creates or recognizes the existence of an
alternate payee's right to, or assigns to an alternate payee the
right to, receive all or a part of the member's account or of
the benefits payable to the member.