1. Employee and Employer Contributions
Employee contributions are fully vested immediately—that means they belong 100% to the participant and can be divided through a QDRO. However, employer contributions often follow a vesting schedule. For example, under a 5-year graded vesting schedule, the participant must remain employed for five years to fully own those matching funds. In a divorce, the former spouse generally only receives the vested portion of the employer contributions as of the date of division.

