The roots of QDRO Consultants – the largest firm in the country specializing in the review and determination of qualified orders -- go back over three decades to 1985 when David Kelley started Pension Evaluators, a firm that assisted attorneys actuarially value and divide retirement assets. Coincidentally, it was also the year that Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs) came into being as a result of the Retirement Equity Act of 1984 (REA) which modified the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) allowing the direct division of retirement assets between divorcing or legally separating couples.
Because QDROs were a mystery to most except those with legal and actuarial insights, it took years before many of those newfound rights were actually implemented. Everyone struggled to understand the complex requirements the new law imposed before a domestic relations order (DRO) could be “qualified” to become a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO). New phrases such as alternate payee and qualified preretirement survivor annuity (QPSA) entered divorces. Little guidance existed in the first years as many plan administrators were reluctant to even offer plan models for fear that such an offer might be construed as offering legal advice.
More than two decades ago, a number of major recordkeepers turned to QDRO Consultants for our expertise and superior servicing model to provide services to their clients. Additionally, large plan sponsors sought out our services for the very same reason -- our servicing model and expertise.
In the midst of the significant growth, our core mission has remained the same: To provide world-class QDRO & QMCSO leadership for plan sponsors & their employees that helps families – in a challenging time, move forward. And the key to carrying out that mission – and our greatest competitive advantage alongside competitive pricing and deep expertise – is our superior “high touch” servicing model in which all the parties involved in a divorce can easily reach a designated team member by phone, email or letter for quick, accurate answers.