Divorce Solutions

Question #193

My husband and I have been married for ten years, he has been in the FDNY for 15 and worked for Buffalo State for ten years with a break in service between the two. A few years ago, a bill was passed that he could by back the ten years he worked for in Buffalo. So, he paid for those ten years, which was over 13,000, which was paid for out of his pension. This means at 20 years when he can retire from the FDNY. He is retiring at 30 years. So my question is, how many years of his pension should I get?

In the event of a divorce, you would be entitled to approximately one half of your spouse’s pension, which was earned during the marriage. If the $13,000 used to buy back the ten years at Buffalo State was earned during your marriage, it is marital property, and the additional ten years of retirement credit would also be considered a product of the marital property and as such marital property as well. So you should be entitled to 1/2 of the entire 30-year retirement pension.

If you are living in the New York City metropolitan area, please call me at 212-370-1660 to discuss the issue in more detail and to arrange for a meeting to discuss any plans for separation or divorce.

Leonard M. Weiner, Esq./Divorce Solutions