Same-sex marriage and qualified retirement plans
Recent changes have been made to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) due to the United States V. Windsor Supreme Court decision in June, 2013, affecting the administration of qualified retirement plans. As of September 16, 2013, with guidance issued by the IRS and Department of Labor, plans must be administered such that same-sex couples are treated equally with opposite gender couples if a couple was married in a state where same-sex marriage is legal (“state of celebration”), regardless of where the couple resides. Therefore, all retirement plan provisions that refer to marital status or spousal benefits are to be considered gender-neutral and those benefits and rights previously applicable only to opposite-sex marriages are now applicable to same-sex marriages as well. These include spousal consents, qualified joint and survivor annuities and survivor benefits.