## Facts

- Daniel G. Poppe and Josephine A. Poppe married in 1946, separated in 1973, and dissolved their marriage by final judgment in 1974.
- Daniel served on active duty in the Navy until 1946 and then in the Naval Reserve until retiring in 1977, when he began receiving reserve retirement pay.
- Naval Reserve retirement pay was calculated primarily by accumulated “points” (e.g., drills attended and days of active duty), not simply by years of service; a minimum number of “qualifying” years was required for eligibility, but the pension amount depended on total points earned.
- In 1978, Daniel moved to decrease or terminate spousal support; Josephine sought an order fixing her community interest in Daniel’s Naval Reserve pension.
- The trial court denied Daniel’s support request and fixed Josephine’s pension interest using a time-rule fraction based on years of service during marriage over total qualifying years, awarding her one-half of that fraction of the monthly pension.
- Daniel appealed, challenging both the pension apportionment method and the refusal to modify spousal support.

## Issues

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by applying a time-rule apportionment (marital years/total qualifying years) to a Naval Reserve pension whose value is based primarily on points earned.
2. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to reduce or terminate spousal support based on asserted changed circumstances.

## Decision

- The court reversed the pension apportionment portion of the order and remanded for recalculation consistent with the pension’s points-based formula.
- The court held the time rule was improper where the pension’s value was not substantially related to years served but to points earned; using years-based fractions materially misstated the community share.
- The court affirmed the order denying Daniel’s request to reduce or terminate spousal support, finding no abuse of discretion.
- Overall disposition: affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.

## Legal Principles

- Community apportionment of retirement benefits must bear a rational relationship to how the benefit is earned and valued; a time-rule fraction is not mechanically applicable to every plan.
- When a retirement plan’s benefit is determined primarily by points or other non-time metrics, the community interest should be measured by a fraction reflecting the marital share of the earning metric (e.g., points earned during marriage/total points).
- Postjudgment modification of spousal support is reviewed for abuse of discretion; the moving party must show materially changed circumstances warranting adjustment.
- In long-term marriages, courts may consider the supported spouse’s needs, the payor’s ability to pay, and maintaining, where feasible, the marital standard of living when deciding whether to modify support.

## Conclusion

The court required a points-based apportionment of a Naval Reserve pension because the plan’s value depended on points rather than years, making a time-rule division an abuse of discretion, while upholding the trial court’s refusal to reduce spousal support due to the supported spouse’s continuing need and the payor’s ability to pay.


In re Marriage of Poppe, 97 Cal. App. 3d 1 (Ct. App. 1979)