Employee and Employer Contributions
401(k) plans commonly include pre-tax employee contributions and employer matches. In a QDRO, it’s critical to specify which portions of the account are to be divided. If the employer contributions are not yet fully vested at the time of divorce, those unvested amounts generally should not be assigned to the alternate payee unless otherwise agreed upon.
The order should clearly indicate whether the division includes:
- Employee contributions only
- Employer contributions (vested only)
- Investment earnings and losses from the date of valuation to the date of distribution

