Employee vs. Employer Contributions
401(k) plans typically consist of salary deferral contributions made by the employee and matching or profit-sharing contributions made by the employer. Only the employee’s contributions are fully vested immediately in most cases. Employer contributions may be subject to a vesting schedule—meaning that if the employee hasn’t worked a certain number of years, a portion might not yet belong to them.
This matters in a QDRO because only the portion of the account that is marital property and is vested can be divided. We work with clients and attorneys to carefully review current account statements and the plan’s Summary Plan Description (SPD) to identify the marital portion.

