Employee vs. Employer Contributions
The QDRO should specify whether the award includes:
- Just the employee’s contributions plus earnings
- Employee and employer contributions that are vested as of the division date
Unvested employer contributions can be a major point of confusion. If the participant isn’t fully vested, the alternate payee could lose out if the plan doesn’t allow distribution of unvested funds. We often recommend language that accounts for vesting schedules to avoid future complications.

