Sections 42-1101 to 42-1113 shall be known and may be cited as the Spousal Pension Rights Act.

For purposes of the Spousal Pension Rights Act:

(1) Alternate payee means a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of a member who is recognized by a domestic relations order as having a right to receive all or a portion of the benefits payable by a statewide public retirement system with respect to such member;

(2) Benefit means an annuity, a pension, a retirement allowance, a withdrawal of accumulated contributions, or an optional benefit accrued or accruing to a member under a statewide public retirement system;

(3) Domestic relations order means a judgment, decree, or order, including approval of a property settlement agreement, which relates to the provision of child support, alimony payments, maintenance support, or marital property rights to a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of a member and is made pursuant to a state domestic relations law of this state or another state;

(4) Earliest retirement date means the earlier of (a) the date on which the member is entitled to a distribution under the system or (b) the later of (i) the date that the member attains fifty years of age or (ii) the earliest date that the member could receive benefits under the system if the member separated from service;

(5) Qualified domestic relations order means a domestic relations order which creates or recognizes the existence of an alternate payee's right, or assigns to an alternate payee the right, to receive all or a portion of the benefits payable with respect to a member under a statewide public retirement system, which directs the system to disburse benefits to the alternate payee, and which meets the requirements of section 42-1103;

(6) Segregated amounts means the amounts which would have been payable to the alternative payee during the period of time that the qualified status of an order is being determined. Such amounts shall equal the amounts payable for such period if the order had been determined to be a qualified domestic relations order; and

(7) Statewide public retirement system means the Retirement System for Nebraska Counties, the Nebraska Judges Retirement System as provided in the Judges Retirement Act, the School Employees Retirement System of the State of Nebraska, the Nebraska State Patrol Retirement System, and the State Employees Retirement System of the State of Nebraska.

A domestic relations order is a qualified domestic relations order only if such order or accompanying document:

(1) Clearly specifies the following:

(a) The name, social security number, and last-known mailing address, if any, of the member;

(b) The name, social security number, and last-known mailing address, if any, of the alternate payee covered by the order;

(c) The statewide public retirement system or systems to which the order applies;

(d) The number of payments or period to which such order applies; and

(e) The amount or percentage of the member's benefits to be paid by each statewide public retirement system to each alternate payee or the manner in which such amount or percentage is determined;

(2) Does not require a statewide public retirement system to provide any type or form of benefit, or any option, not otherwise provided under the plan;

(3) Does not require a statewide public retirement system to provide increased benefits determined on the basis of actuarial value;

(4) Does not require a statewide public retirement system to pay to an alternate payee benefits which are required to be paid to another alternate payee under another order previously determined to be a qualified domestic relations order; and

(5) Does not require the payment of benefits to an alternate payee before the earliest retirement date of a member.

(1) A qualified domestic relations order may provide for the payment of benefits to an alternate payee beginning on or after the member's earliest retirement date but before the member terminates employment. Payment of the benefit to the alternate payee pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order shall commence either on the member's retirement date or on the first day of the month immediately following the month in which the alternate payee notifies the statewide public retirement system of the election to begin payment, but not prior to the member's earliest retirement date.

(2) If payment begins after the member's earliest retirement date but prior to the member's retirement date, the alternate payee is only entitled to the actuarial equivalent of the alternate payee's share of the member's benefit payable on the member's earliest retirement date or the alternate payee's election date, whichever is later.

An alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order shall receive the form of benefit payment specified in the order or, if not specified, selected by the alternate payee, if such form is a form available to the member and is not a joint and survivor annuity with the alternate payee's subsequent spouse.

If the alternate payee dies prior to receiving any payment of his or her interest in the member's benefit under a qualified domestic relations order, such interest reverts to the member. If the alternate payee dies after commencement of payments of his or her interest, then the alternate payee's beneficiary is entitled to the balance of the payee's interest under the payment option provided by the order or selected by the payee, except a joint and survivor annuity option with the alternate payee and alternate payee's spouse.

A qualified domestic relations order may provide that a spouse under a judgment for separate maintenance or a former spouse is considered the surviving spouse under the plan. If the order requires the member to select a payment option with survivorship rights, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall require consent by such spouse for the selection of the annuity option by the member or for any change in the selection of the annuity option by the member. The order may specifically require that the annuity option be a joint and survivor annuity.

The alternate payee shall file a copy of the domestic relations order involving benefits under a statewide public retirement system with the Public Employees Retirement Board within ninety days after the date that the order was entered. Upon good cause shown, the board may accept an order after ninety days following its entry. Within ten days, the board shall notify in writing the member and alternate payee that the board has received the domestic relations order. Such notice shall include a description of the procedure to determine if the domestic relations order is a qualified domestic relations order under the Spousal Pension Rights Act. The Public Employees Retirement Board shall be held harmless by the alternate payee and the member for any amounts paid in violation of an order prior to the date on which the order is filed with the board.

The Public Employees Retirement Board shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to establish reasonable procedures to determine the qualified status of domestic relations orders and to administer distributions under such orders. Such procedures shall allow an alternate payee to designate a representative for receipt of copies of notices.

(1) The Public Employees Retirement Board, or the board's designee, shall determine, within a reasonable period of time after receiving a domestic relations order, if the order is a qualified domestic relations order under the Spousal Pension Rights Act. The board may determine that an order is not qualified for the following reasons:

(a) The order fails to fulfill all the requirements under section 42-1103;

(b) The order requires the board to act contrary to the statutory provisions of the statewide public retirement system; or

(c) The order requires payment to the alternate payee in the form of a joint and survivor annuity with respect to the alternate payee and his or her subsequent spouse.

(2) Failure to file an order within ninety days after its entry shall not be the basis for determining that an order is not a qualified domestic relations order.

(3) Within seven days after making the determination, the board or its designee shall notify the alternate payee and the member whether the domestic relations order is a qualified domestic relation order under the act. If the order is not a qualified domestic relations order, the notice shall specify the basis for such determination.

(4) A determination by the board or its designee that a domestic relations order is not a qualified domestic relations order does not prohibit a member or an alternate payee from filing an amended order with the board.

(1) During the period of time that a determination, by the board, its designee, or a court of competent jurisdiction, is being made as to whether a domestic relations order is a qualified domestic relations order, the director of the statewide public retirement systems shall separately account for the segregated amounts.

(2) If a member of the statewide public retirement systems participates in a defined contribution account, the member shall maintain investment authority over the entire account until the order is determined to be a qualified domestic relations order, but upon such determination, the alternate payee shall receive investment authority over the alternate payee's share of the account.

(3) If within the eighteen-month period the order is determined to be a qualified domestic relations order, the director of the statewide public retirement systems shall pay the segregated amounts plus interest to the alternate payee or payees entitled thereto.

(4) If within the eighteen-month period the order is determined not to be a qualified domestic relations order or the qualified status of the order is not resolved, the director of the statewide public retirement systems shall pay the segregated amounts plus interest to the member or other beneficiaries entitled thereto.

(5) If the determination that the order is a qualified domestic relations order is made after the eighteen-month period, the order will be applied prospectively only.

(6) For purposes of this section, the eighteen-month period begins on the date that the first payment would be required under the domestic relations order.

A domestic relations order filed with the Public Employees Retirement Board prior to July 19, 1996, shall be deemed a qualified domestic relations order under the Spousal Pension Rights Act if the statewide public retirement system is making payments under the order on July 19, 1996, and such order conforms to section 414(p)(11) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The member and alternate payee shall hold the statewide public retirement system and its fiduciaries harmless from any liabilities which arise from (1) treating a domestic relations order as being, or not being, a qualified domestic relations order, or (2) taking action pursuant to section 42-1111. The system's obligation to the member and each alternate payee shall be discharged to the extent of any payment made pursuant to the Spousal Pension Rights Act.