According to German law, pension rights acquired during the course of a marriage must
be equally divided between the spouses if they are divorced after July 1, 1977. This
division also applies to pension rights acquired in the United States. Basically,
the pension rights acquired by the spouses during the period of their marriage are
compared and half of the difference in value is transferred to the spouse with the
lesser pension rights. German family courts are responsible for making these adjustments.
Therefore, INTPSC occasionally receives requests for U.S. earnings records needed
to make adjustments. LCs are responsible for replying to these requests, so be aware
that the U.S. earnings records are not being requested to process claims filed under
the agreement; the “routine use” provision does not apply. This means the worker's consent msut be obtained before
an earnings record is released, unless the worker signed the request or the worker
is deceased.