Employee vs Employer Contributions
Employees typically contribute their own salary deferrals into 401(k) plans, and these amounts are always fully vested. Employer contributions, however, are often subject to a vesting schedule—meaning the employee must work a certain number of years to earn the rights to those funds completely. In your QDRO division, you’ll want to:
- Specify whether the alternate payee gets a portion of both the employee and employer contributions.
- Clarify how to handle unvested amounts—Optionally exclude them or allow subsequent entitlement if they vest later.

