Risoldi v. Risoldi

In Risoldi v. Risoldi, 320 N.J. Super. 524, 727 A.2d 1038 (N.J. Super. 1999), cert denied, 161 N.J. 335, 736 A.2d 528 (N.J. 1999), the New Jersey court recognized the two methods utilized by trial courts in equitably distributing pensions: the deferred distribution method and the present value/immediate offset method. Id. at 1045. "The major drawback of the present-value immediate distribution method is the difficulty inherent in fixing a present value for future benefits." Id. The Risoldi court held that "the present-value offset distribution method is only appropriate when there are sufficient other marital assets against which to offset the non- pensioner's equitable distribution interest in the pension, or sufficient income available to facilitate a reasonable buy-out of the non-pensioner spouse's interest." Id. at 1046. The Court concluded that "application of the coverture fraction, applied at the time the benefits convert to pay status at retirement, will assure ex-husband maintains the fruits of his post-divorce labor." Risoldi, 727 A.2d at 1049. The court explained its final holding as follows: "In summary, this case involves a hybrid of the two basic methods of distributing the interest of the non-pensioner spouse, where a portion of that interest is distributed at the time of entry of the divorce judgment and a portion is distributed at the time the pension goes into pay status. We rule that the portion distributed at the time of divorce, through an offset against another asset or through a cash buy-out, must be valued using the present actuarial valuation method, reducing the future value of the pensioner's interest to present-value dollars. The deferred distribution of the remaining portion of the non-pensioner spouse's interest must be valued using a coverture fraction, multiplied by the non-pensioner spouse's percentage interest in the pension, and then multiplied by the amount of the pension benefit. Further, in accordance with the holding in Moore v. Moore, 114 N.J. 147, 553 A.2d 20 (N.J. 1989), future post-retirement cost-of-living increases, limited to those attributable to the portion of the pension earned during the marriage, are distributable to the non-pensioner spouse in an amount equal to her percentage share at the time of the deferred distribution." Id.