New York Pension Division Calculator (Majauskas Formula)
Estimate how much of a defined-benefit pension a spouse receives in a New York divorce, using the formula from Majauskas v. Majauskas, 61 N.Y.2d 481 (1984).
Estimate only — not legal advice. Plan rules and drafting choices change the number.How the Majauskas formula works
In 1984 the New York Court of Appeals decided Majauskas v. Majauskas and settled the question of how to divide a pension that has not yet been paid. The answer was elegant: do not guess at a present value. Instead, divide the stream — give the non-employee spouse a fixed percentage of each payment, calculated from the share of the pension that was earned during the marriage.
Majauskas v. Majauskas, 61 N.Y.2d 481 (1984)
A worked example
Suppose a Buffalo firefighter began service in 2005, married in 2010, and the divorce was commenced in 2025. He plans to retire in 2030 with 25 years of service credit and a projected pension of $5,000 a month.
- Service during the marriage: 2010 to 2025 = 15 years (180 months).
- Total service at retirement: 2005 to 2030 = 25 years (300 months).
- Marital fraction: 180 ÷ 300 = 60%. That 60% of the pension is marital property.
- Spouse’s share: 60% × 50% = 30% of each payment.
- In dollars: 30% of $5,000 = $1,500 a month to the ex-spouse; $3,500 retained.
Notice what the formula does not do. It does not give the spouse half the pension. It does not touch the five years earned before the wedding, or the five earned after the case was filed. Those are separate property, and they stay that way.
| Term | What it means and where the money is won or lost |
|---|---|
| Numerator Marital service | Service credit earned from the date of marriage to the date the action was commenced. Not the date you separated — the date the summons was filed. In a long-running case, this date can be worth real money. |
| Denominator Total service | Total credited service at actual retirement. Because the employee keeps working after the divorce, the denominator grows — which means the marital fraction, and the ex-spouse’s percentage, shrinks the longer the employee works. |
| The 50% | Customary, not statutory. It is the presumptive equal split of the marital portion, and it is negotiable — commonly traded against the marital home or a maintenance buyout. |
| Purchased & military credit | Service credit bought back, or credited for military service, is allocated by when it was earned or paid for — not automatically to either column. It is a frequent fight. |
| The QDRO | The order that makes it real. Without it, the plan pays nothing to the ex-spouse, no matter what the judgment says. |
The judgment does not divide the pension. The QDRO does.
A divorce judgment that says your spouse gets a Majauskas share is a promise, not a payment. The plan administrator will not act on it. What moves money is a Qualified Domestic Relations Order — a separate order, signed by the judge, drafted in language the plan will accept, and served on the administrator. New York State plans (NYSLRS, NYSTRS, police and fire) use their own Domestic Relations Order with mandatory language and will reject anything else. If your divorce is final and no QDRO was ever entered, the right is not lost — but delay creates real risk, particularly if the employee spouse retires, remarries, or dies before it is done. That is a Supreme Court application, and it should not wait.
Survivor benefits: the clause people forget
A Majauskas share generally pays only while the employee spouse is alive. If the retiree dies and the QDRO did not name the ex-spouse as a surviving beneficiary, the payments can simply stop. Preretirement and postretirement survivor benefit elections are negotiated and must be written into the order — not assumed. This is among the most consequential paragraphs in a QDRO and one of the most commonly omitted.
This calculator is for pensions — not 401(k)s
Majauskas divides a defined-benefit pension: an employer promise to pay a monthly annuity for life based on years of service. A 401(k), 403(b), or IRA is a different animal — an account with a balance. Those are divided by tracing value from the date of marriage to the date of commencement, allocating gains and losses along the way, and they call for a different analysis entirely. If you are dividing an account balance rather than a service pension, start with our equitable distribution calculator.
Read more: QDROs and retirement accounts in a NY divorce · Property division · Gray divorce · Buffalo divorce attorney
Disclaimer: This calculator applies the Majauskas formula to the dates you enter. It is an estimate for general information only, is not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Actual results depend on your plan’s definition of credited service, how purchased and military credit is treated, survivor benefit elections, cost-of-living adjustments, the drafting of the QDRO itself, and any different percentage the parties negotiate or the court orders under DRL § 236(B)(5). Have a licensed New York attorney and a QDRO drafter review any pension division before you sign. Weinrieb Law — 5555 Main Street, Suite 5, Williamsville, NY 14221 · (716) 759-4529.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dividing a Pension in a New York Divorce
How much of my pension will my ex get in a New York divorce?
New York uses the Majauskas formula, from Majauskas v. Majauskas, 61 N.Y.2d 481 (1984). The non-employee spouse's share of each pension payment equals: (months of service credit earned during the marriage ÷ total months of service credit at retirement) × 50%. So if you worked 20 years total and 10 of those were during the marriage, the marital fraction is 50%, and your spouse's presumptive share is 25% of each monthly payment — half of the marital half.
What is the Majauskas formula?
It is New York's standard method for dividing a defined-benefit pension in a divorce, established by the Court of Appeals in Majauskas v. Majauskas (1984). The formula is: numerator = the length of service credited to the employee spouse during the marriage; denominator = the total service credited at retirement; that fraction is the marital portion; and the non-employee spouse typically receives 50% of it. The result is expressed as a percentage of each pension payment as it is paid, not as a lump sum.
Is the 50% share in the Majauskas formula automatic?
No. Fifty percent is the customary and presumptive split of the marital portion, but it is not statutory. Spouses regularly negotiate a different percentage — trading pension share against the marital home, a business interest, or a maintenance buyout. Courts also retain discretion under the equitable distribution factors of DRL § 236(B)(5). What is far less negotiable is the marital fraction itself, which is a matter of dates and service credit.
What dates define the 'marriage' portion of a pension in New York?
The marital window runs from the date of the marriage to the date the divorce action was commenced — the date the summons was filed, not the date the judgment was signed and not the date you separated. Service credit earned before the wedding and after the commencement date is generally the employee spouse's separate property. This is one reason the commencement date can be strategically significant in a long divorce.
What is a QDRO and do I need one?
A Qualified Domestic Relations Order is the separate court order that actually tells the retirement plan to pay the ex-spouse. Your divorce judgment alone does not move a dollar — the plan administrator will not act on it. Private employer plans require a QDRO; New York State and municipal plans (NYSLRS, NYSTRS, police and fire) use a Domestic Relations Order with their own required language. If a QDRO was never entered after your divorce, the benefit is still divisible, but you should move promptly, and it is a Supreme Court application.
Do post-divorce raises and promotions increase my ex-spouse's pension share?
Generally not to the extent they reflect post-divorce work. Under Olivo v. Olivo, 82 N.Y.2d 202 (1993), and its line of cases, increases attributable to the employee spouse's post-divorce service, promotions, and separate efforts are separate property. But increases attributable to service already earned during the marriage — cost-of-living adjustments, and in some plans the effect of a final-average-salary calculation — can flow through to the marital share. Whether your QDRO uses a 'frozen' benefit or a benefit calculated at actual retirement is a drafting decision with real money attached.
Does the Majauskas formula apply to a 401(k) or IRA?
No — and this is a common and expensive confusion. Majauskas is for defined-benefit pensions, which pay a monthly annuity based on years of service. A 401(k), 403(b), or IRA is a defined-contribution account with a balance, and it is divided by tracing the account's value from the date of marriage to the date of commencement, usually with investment gains and losses allocated proportionally. A 401(k) still needs a QDRO to divide; an IRA does not, and is transferred incident to divorce under IRC § 408(d)(6).