Legal Question in Family Law in California

It is impossible to answer your question specifically without more information, particularly what kind of retirement plan, how long the marriage lasted, and whaty ou mean by the "difference in income and retirement dollars." I can tell you, however, that income and retirement plans are treated separately and differently. Income is used in calculating support payments. Pension plans are treated as a special kind of community property and are handled through a special process for joining the pension plan as a nominal party to the divorce and issuing an order for allocation of the pension. Personal retirement plans, like IRAs are just property to be distributed, though for tax purposes the trustee of the account may have to be named a party and an order for distribution issued. Usually it is simpler just to allocate the IRA to the person who's name it is in, and make an equalizing payment somewhere else in the property distribution.