Employee vs. Employer Contributions
Most QDROs for 401(k) plans assign a portion of the total vested balance to the alternate payee. But not all funds in the plan are treated equally. The employee contributions — which came from the participant’s own paycheck — are usually 100% vested. Employer contributions may be subject to a schedule where only a portion becomes owned by the employee over time.
In the case of the Jiva Health 401(k) Plan, if the participant has unvested employer contributions, those amounts will likely not be transferable to the alternate payee. That’s why we recommend ordering the plan’s “vested account balance” as of the valuation date.

