Employee Contributions vs. Employer Contributions
401(k) plans are composed of both employee salary deferrals and employer profit-sharing or matching contributions. In a QDRO, it must be clear whether the alternate payee (usually the non-employee spouse) will receive a portion of the total balance or only the employee contributions.
Important questions to answer:
- Are all contributions being divided, or only certain types?
- What is the cut-off date for division—date of separation, filing, judgment, or another specified date?
- Are employer contributions fully vested? If not, how should unvested amounts be addressed?

