Employee and Employer Contributions
401(k) balances typically include employee deferrals and any associated matching or profit-sharing contributions made by the employer. In a divorce, it’s common to divide only what was earned during the marriage. A QDRO can define the marital portion by using a specific date (e.g., date of marriage to date of separation) and either assigning a dollar amount or percentage.
The alternate payee is only entitled to the vested portion of employer contributions. If some employer contributions aren’t vested at the time of divorce, they may be excluded or treated differently under the QDRO. You’ll also want to clarify whether earnings/losses from the division date to the date of distribution will be shared.

