Vesting Schedules and Forfeitures
If the employee earned any employer contributions, these might be subject to a vesting schedule. That means only part of the employer contributions may be the employee’s to keep. Any unvested portion could be forfeited if the employee separates from the company before fully vesting.
In a QDRO, only the vested portion of the account can be divided. It’s important to understand that an alternate payee (usually the former spouse) cannot receive unvested funds. If you’re drafting a QDRO for this plan, request a current vesting statement from the plan administrator first.

