New Jersey: Equitable Distribution of Disability Pension

In a divorce where defendant was the recipient of a disability pension benefit from the New Jersey Police and Firemen’s Retirement System, plaintiff was not allowed to receive that part of the pension representing reimbursement for disability and economic loss. Larrison v. Larrison, N.J.Super.A.D.,2007, April 05, 2007.


The Larrison Court cited Sherman:

[D]isability payments do not constitute marital property, because they are intended as replacement for income the disabled spouse would be earning currently and would be able to earn in the future had the spouse not become disabled.

Sherman v. Sherman, 740 S.W.2d 203, 207 (Mo.Ct.App.1987) (holding that pensioner-spouse’s disability benefits are not marital property because they are a substitute for the husband’s lost earnings occasioned by his inability to work).

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