Employee and Employer Contributions
Employee contributions (deferrals) are always 100% the employee’s property and can be divided in a QDRO based on various formulas—percentage, dollar amount, or coverture fraction. But employer matching contributions may be subject to a vesting schedule. If the marriage ends before all employer contributions have vested, that can affect how much the alternate payee receives.
For example, if someone has only vested in 60% of the employer match as of the division date, the QDRO can only divide that vested amount. Timing is critical, and our team confirms these vesting schedules with the administrator during our QDRO process.

