Employee and Employer Contributions
401(k) accounts often contain both employee deferrals and employer matching contributions. With the Animal Supply Company LLC 401(k) Retirement Plan, any division must make clear whether the award to the alternate payee includes:
- Just the employee’s contributions
- A percentage of the total account (including employer contributions)
- Only the vested portion of employer contributions as of the date of division
It’s critical to remember that employer contributions often come with a vesting schedule. This means not all employer matching funds may “belong” to the employee at the time of divorce. If you’re dividing the account without understanding this, you could accidentally over-award unvested amounts.

