Employee vs. Employer Contributions
Not all money in a 401(k) is treated equally. A QDRO must distinguish between:
- Employee Contributions: These are contributions made by the plan participant directly from their wages. These are always 100% vested and typically easy to divide.
- Employer Contributions: Some employers match employee contributions or offer profit-sharing. The issue? These may not be fully vested. If they’re not 100% vested at the time of divorce, the alternate payee (usually the ex-spouse) may not receive the full amount being allocated to them. If the QDRO doesn’t take this into account, one spouse could lose out.

