Feds: Laws Governing Private Pensions Cover All Same-Sex Marriages

Regardless of legal status in specific state

The Labor Department announced Wednesday that federal laws governing private employee pension and related benefit plans will be interpreted to recognize all legal marriages of same-sex couples, regardless of where the couple is living currently.

The decision to utilize a "place of celebration" rule, rather than a "place of domicile" rule follows the lead set by the Treasury Department in recognizing marriages for purposes of the tax code so long as they were legal in the state where the marriage was granted.