Employee and Employer Contributions
A typical 401(k) plan includes two types of contributions:
- Employee Contributions: These are the amounts the employee defers from their paycheck. They are always fully vested.
- Employer Contributions: These often come with a vesting schedule. Only the vested portion can be divided in a QDRO.
It’s important your QDRO clearly distinguishes between these contributions. If your spouse is not yet fully vested in the employer portion, the alternate payee should only receive a share of what is vested as of the division date.

