1. Division of Employee and Employer Contributions
The participant’s own salary deferral contributions are usually fully vested and available for division. But employer contributions—especially matching or profit-sharing—may be subject to a vesting schedule. If the participant isn’t yet fully vested, part of the account may not be available to allocate to the non-employee spouse.
Any QDRO should clearly state whether the non-employee spouse is to receive:
- A marital fraction applied to the total vested balance
- Only vested amounts as of a specific cutoff date
- All future vesting rights (rare, and requires plan permission)

