In the case of Howell v. Howell (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a state court may not order a veteran to indemnify a divorced spouse for the loss in the divorced spouse’s portion of the veteran's retirement pay caused by the veteran's waiver of retirement pay to receive service-related disability benefits. The dispute arose when John Howell, an Air Force veteran, elected to waive $250 per month from his military pension in favor of receiving an equal amount as tax-free disability compensation instead. His ex-wife Sandra argued that this decision reduced her share under their divorce agreement and sued him for reimbursement in Arizona courts which sided with her initially before being overturned by higher courts leading up to this ruling by SCOTUS.

In the case of Howell v. Howell, there was no dissenting opinion recorded as the decision was unanimous. The Supreme Court ruled 8-0 in favor of John Howell, a veteran whose ex-wife Sandra sought to secure her portion of his military retirement pay after he waived part of it for disability benefits post-divorce. The court held that federal law preempts state law and therefore prevents an ex-spouse from increasing their share of a veteran's retirement pay when the veteran waives retirement pay in order to receive service-related disability benefits.