Employee and Employer Contributions
Many 401(k) plans include both employee (fully vested immediately) and employer contributions (subject to vesting). In your QDRO, it’s important to clearly indicate whether the alternate payee is receiving a portion of:
- Just the employee’s contributions
- Both employee and any vested employer contributions
If employer contributions are not yet vested, they usually cannot be awarded unless and until vesting occurs later. We strongly recommend specifying that only vested portions should be divided unless otherwise agreed.

