Can Retirement Reduce Or Stop Alimony Payments?

If you’re paying alimony to your former spouse while nearing retirement age, it’s reasonable to ask whether or not you will have to continue making payments once you retire. You may even be considering early retirement as a means to avoid paying alimony. While retirement can impact your alimony payments, there are several factors to consider. In this article, the Tampa FL divorce lawyers Faulkner Law Group, PLLC we’ll discuss how retirement impacts alimony payments in Florida.

Understanding reasonable retirement 

Florida allows a payer of alimony to reduce or eliminate their alimony payments in the case of a “reasonable retirement”. That begs the question, however, what constitutes a “reasonable retirement?”

The law allows retirees or those nearing retirement age to petition the court to reduce or stop alimony payments. This makes a certain kind of sense. Essentially, it would be unfair to force an individual to have to continue working beyond their retirement age just so they can pay alimony. This describes the situation for several Florida alimony payers. However, in 2023, legislators addressed this problem and changed the law to make it easier for retirees to stop alimony payments.

On the other hand, the payer of alimony could take advantage of the law by retiring early to avoid making alimony payments to a former spouse they no longer care about. Hence, the law requires the retirement to be reasonable or in good faith.

To put it another way, if you’re only retiring to reduce or stop alimony payments, the court will likely catch on to this and deny your alimony modification. Reasonable retirement means that you have met the required conditions, and have reached a normal retirement age. For example, you cannot retire at the age of 45 just to stop making alimony payments.

Social Security guidelines establish 65 as the normal retirement age. However, the courts can grant an alimony reduction or termination to any individual who is nearing retirement age. The average age of retirement in the United States is 61. Such factors can add to the complexity of reducing an alimony payment.

When can alimony be modified in the state of Florida? 

Either spouse can petition the court to modify an alimony payment in Florida. The petition must, however, prove the following:

• a substantial change in circumstances has occurred since the original alimony order was put into place
• the changes are both material and involuntary

The most important factor when determining whether or not an alimony award should be modified is whether or not there has been a substantial change in circumstances and whether or not that change is voluntary or involuntary. So, you cannot voluntarily retire at the age of 45 to reduce your alimony payments. However, the court will consider a wide array of factors when determining whether or not an alimony payment should be modified due to retirement. These include:

• Age
• Health
• Occupation
• Reason for the retirement
• The average retirement age for your occupation

Talk to a Tampa FL family law attorney today 

Faulkner Law Group, PLLC represents the interests of spouses who are looking to modify or terminate their alimony payments. Call our Tampa family lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin advocating on your behalf right away.