Dennis v. Fire & Police Employees' Retirement System

Appellants, both former Baltimore City police officers, ask this Court to determine whether payments of deferred retirement option plan (“DROP”) retirement benefits from the Baltimore City Fire and Police Employees’ Retirement System (“the Retirement System”) are “pension” payments within the meaning of the Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (“QDROs”) entered in appellants’ divorces, entitling the appellee spouses to a portion of the DROP payments in accordance with the terms of the QDROs. We shall hold that the DROP payments are “pension” payments under the QDROs, and that consequently the…