1. Dividing Employee vs. Employer Contributions
This plan likely includes both employee deferrals and employer contributions. The QDRO must clarify whether the alternate payee (usually the former spouse) is entitled to:
- Only the participant’s pre-tax contributions and associated earnings
- Employer contributions that have vested as of a certain date
- All contributions (if using a percentage of total value)
If the employer contributions are not fully vested, they may be forfeited once the employee terminates employment. That makes it crucial to specify whether the distributions are based on vested or total balances and whether future vesting counts.

