1. Employer Contributions and Vesting
Many plan participants are not 100% vested in their employer contributions. For this reason, it’s crucial to determine the participant’s vested balance as of the date of divorce or another agreed-upon cutoff date. A QDRO can divide only the vested portion unless the parties agree otherwise.
The plan may forfeit unvested funds if the participant leaves employment. That needs to be factored in when structuring the QDRO—for instance, the alternate payee might only be awarded 50% of the vested balance as of a particular date.

