Employee and Employer Contributions
In most 401(k) plans, participants contribute a portion of their salary, and the employer may match some of those contributions. The QDRO needs to clearly state whether the alternate payee (the spouse receiving a share) is entitled to:
- A flat percentage of the entire account
- Only employee contributions
- Employee plus vested employer contributions
This distinction matters. Employer contributions may be subject to a vesting schedule, which brings us to our next point.

