1. Employee vs. Employer Contributions
Divorcing spouses often assume they will receive 50% of the total account balance, but that’s not always true. The QDRO must specify whether the alternate payee (usually the non-employee spouse) is receiving:
- A flat dollar amount
- A percentage of the account as of a specific date
- Only the marital portion, excluding any pre-marital or post-separation contributions
In addition, employer contributions may be subject to vesting schedules. If a participant hasn’t worked long enough to be fully vested, a portion of those contributions may be forfeited. That means only the vested percentage will be available for division. This must be factored into the QDRO to avoid confusion later.

