In Florida, any property acquired during marriage, including a pension or 401(k) plan, needs to be split equitably between you and your spouse. A spouse only has a legal claim to pension benefits that accrue during the marriage.

At what age can you retire in Florida?

Currently, the full benefit age is 66 years and 2 months for people born in 1955, and it will gradually rise to 67 for those born in 1960 or later. Early retirement benefits will continue to be available at age 62, but they will be reduced more.

A spouse only has a legal claim to pension benefits that accrue during the marriage. Anything before or after the marriage would be considered separate property, unless otherwise specified in a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement.

age 65
For normal retirement and to receive your full monthly benefit, you must be age 65 with at least 8 years of service or have 33 years of service regardless of age.

How are retirement plans divided during a Florida divorce?

How are retirement plans divided during a divorce? In a Florida divorce most, if not all retirement plans built up during the marriage are marital and the property of both spouse. A frequent situation is where the retirement plan was started before the marriage and continued during the marriage.

Can a non-employee spouse take a Florida retirement plan?

Thus, in those cases in which a municipal retirement plan does not accept QDROs (and most municipalities in Florida do not), the non-employee spouse may wish to consider having the employee spouse’s municipal pension valued and then take some other asset of equal value.

Are there any benefits to retiring to Florida?

Oh, I almost forgot. For a more detailed explanation these and other benefits of retiring to Florida, be sure to read the Florida Move Guide. Florida offers it’s residents the best built in protection of your assets than any other US state (Okay, maybe it’s tied with Texas on that).

Can a spouse claim retirement prior to marriage?

Your retirement established prior to your marriage is your separate property. If some of the retirement was earned during the 3 years you were married, your spouse may have a claim to a portion of that. Any such claim could be offset by a division of other marital property.