Employee and Employer Contributions
401(k) accounts are funded both by employees (through salary deferrals) and employers (through matching or profit-sharing contributions). In most QDROs, the alternate payee—the spouse receiving a share—gets a percentage of the participant’s total account balance as of a specific valuation date (usually the date of separation or divorce).
However, it’s important to determine whether the employer contributions were vested at the time of divorce. If not, they may not be available to divide.

