Employee vs. Employer Contributions
The participant’s own salary deferrals (employee contributions) are always theirs and usually 100% vested. However, employer contributions—such as profit-sharing matches—may be subject to vesting. If the employer follows a graded or cliff vesting schedule, some of those amounts may not be fully available to divide depending on how long the employee has been with the company.
In a QDRO, the alternate payee (typically the former spouse) is only eligible for the vested portion of the employer contribution account. It’s critical your QDRO reflects this, or distributions may be delayed—or even denied.

