Employee and Employer Contributions
401(k) plans typically include both employee and employer contributions. The employee contributes by deferring a portion of their paycheck, while the employer may match a percentage of those contributions. In divorce, a QDRO can assign a share of the account to the non-employee spouse—called the “alternate payee.”
However, only what’s been contributed and vested as of the date of separation (or another agreed-upon date) is typically divisible. That brings us to the next important issue: vesting.

