1. Employee and Employer Contributions
One of the most important distinctions in any division is between what the employee has contributed and what the employer has matched. Only fully vested employer contributions are guaranteed to be distributed to the alternate payee. The QDRO must specify whether it applies to just employee contributions or both, and whether it’s a percentage or dollar amount.
- If the participant is not fully vested, the plan will not transfer the non-vested portion to the alternate payee.
- Most plans—including plans like this one—only pay out what’s vested at the time of the QDRO approval.

