Employee Contributions vs Employer Contributions
The plan includes both employee elective deferrals and employer profit-sharing contributions. This means you need to pay special attention to:
- How much of the account is made up of employee contributions (which are usually 100% vested)
- Whether any employer contributions are subject to a vesting schedule
- What portion of the vested balance is to be transferred to the alternate payee (usually the ex-spouse)
The QDRO should specify whether the award includes only the vested portion of the account. If a participant is not fully vested, any unvested amounts may be forfeited depending on the plan’s terms. A common practice is to award a percentage of the “vested account balance as of the date of divorce.”

