1. Alternate Payee—the participant’s spouse (or former spouse, child, or other dependent) who is entitled to receive some or all of the fund’s benefit payments with respect to the participant under the terms of the QDRO. The same QDRO may identify more than one alternate payee, and several alternate payees may be identified in multiple QDROs. However, the board shall not recognize the entitlement of any alternate payee, even if specified in a domestic relations order, if the benefits assigned therein have already been assigned by reason of an earlier QDRO validly served upon the fund.
2. Dependent or Dependent upon the Firefighter for Support—prior to the firefighter’s death, he contributed 50 percent or more to the support of said dependent.
3. Distributee—includes a member or former member. In addition, the member’s or former member’s surviving spouse and the member’s or former member’s spouse or former spouse who is the alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order are distributees with regard to the interest of the spouse or former spouse. A distributee also includes a non-spouse beneficiary properly designated by the member.

4. Domestic Relations Order (DRO)—any judgment, decree, or order (including approval of a property settlement or community property partition) that:

   1. 1. relates to the provision of child support, alimony payments, or marital property rights to a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of a participant; and
   2. 2. is made pursuant to a state domestic relations law (including a community property law).

5. Eligible Retirement Plan—an individual retirement account described in IRC § 408(a), an individual retirement annuity described in IRC § 408(b), an annuity plan described in IRC § 403(a), or a qualified trust described in IRC § 401(a), that accepts the distributee’s eligible rollover distribution. In the case of an eligible rollover distribution to the surviving spouse or alternate payee, an eligible retirement plan is an individual retirement account or individual retirement annuity. An eligible retirement plan also shall include an annuity contract described in IRC § 403(b) and an eligible plan under IRC § 457(b), which is maintained by a state, political subdivision of the state, or any agency or instrumentality of a state or political subdivision of a state (which agrees to separately account for amounts transferred into such plan from this plan) a Roth individual retirement account or Roth individual retirement annuity described in IRC § 408A.

   1. a. In the case of a non-spouse beneficiary, an eligible retirement plan is an individual retirement account or annuity described in IRC § 408(a), or IRC § 408(b) or, a Roth individual retirement account or annuity described in IRC § 408A, that is established on behalf of the designated beneficiary and that will be treated as an inherited IRA pursuant to the provisions of IRC § 402(c)(11).

6. Eligible Rollover Distribution—any distribution of all or any portion of the balance to the credit of the distributee, except that an eligible rollover distribution does not include:

   1. a. any distribution that is one of a series of substantially equal periodic payments (not less frequently than annually) made for the life (or life expectancy) of the distributee or the joint lives (or joint life expectancy) of the distributee and the distributee’s designated beneficiary, or for a specified period of 10 years or more;
   2. b. any distribution to the extent such distribution is required under IRC § 401(a)(9).

7. Non-Designated Beneficiary—in the event no valid designation of beneficiary exists with the fund, the person or persons designated in the first of the following classes which is applicable to the deceased firefighter shall be paid in the following order of priority to:

   1. a. the surviving spouse; and if none to;
   2. b. the surviving children, in equal shares; and if none to;
   3. c. the surviving parents; and if none to;
   4. d. the firefighter’s estate or succession, if a succession has been opened, and if not, then to:
   5. e. the surviving heirs, in equal shares.
8. Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO)—a domestic relations order that 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 participant in the fund, provided that the order complies with the fund’s rules and procedures.

Note: A state court shall actually issue an order, or formally approve a proposed property settlement, in order for it to be recognized as a domestic relations order. A property settlement or community property partition signed by a participant and the participant’s former spouse, or a draft order to which both parties consent, shall not be considered a domestic relations order until the state authority has executed the order or formally approved it and made it part of the domestic relations proceeding.

Authority Note

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 11:3363.

Historical Note

HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Board of Trustees of the Firefighters’ Pension and Relief Fund for the City of New Orleans and Vicinity, LR 52:216 (February 2026).