Montgomery v. Bolton

Summary

The Supreme Court of Arkansas considered whether mandatory Tier II railroad-retirement withholdings may be deducted from income when calculating child support under Arkansas Supreme Court Administrative Order No. 10. The court held that “railroad retirement” includes both Tier I and Tier II benefits and that mandatory Tier II withholdings do not constitute disposable income. It reversed the trial court’s child-support order and remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.

Holdings

1. Mandatory Tier II railroad-retirement withholdings are deductible from income under Section II of Administrative Order No. 10 because they constitute "railroad retirement" deductions and do not form part of the obligor's disposable income.
2. The deletion of the word "equivalent" from Section II of Administrative Order No. 10 was intentional and did not restrict the railroad-retirement deduction to Tier I benefits.

Questions Presented

1. Whether mandatory Tier II railroad-retirement withholdings qualify as deductible railroad-retirement deductions under Section II of Arkansas Supreme Court Administrative Order No. 10 when calculating income for child-support purposes.
2. Whether the 1997 deletion of the word "equivalent" from the railroad-retirement deduction provision of Administrative Order No. 10 limited the deduction to the Social Security-equivalent Tier I benefits.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded