Employee vs. Employer Contributions
Employee contributions are always 100% yours from day one. These are the sums taken from the employee’s paycheck. In most cases, these are easily divisible via a QDRO using a fraction based on dates of marriage and separation or divorce.
Employer contributions, however, often have a vesting schedule. That means some or all of those funds may not belong entirely to the employee until certain conditions (typically years of service) are met. If an employee is not fully vested at time of divorce, only the portion that’s vested can typically be divided.

