Employee and Employer Contributions
One of the most important first steps in drafting a QDRO for this plan is identifying the types of contributions held in the account:
- Employee Deferrals: These are the amounts the participant voluntarily contributed from their paycheck.
- Employer Matching/Profit Sharing: This additional money is contributed by the employer, but not always immediately “owned” by the employee.
Since employer contributions may be subject to vesting schedules, your QDRO needs to account for what’s vested and what’s not. Unvested employer contributions could be forfeited if the employee leaves the company too early, and the alternate payee can’t claim them.

