1. Employee vs. Employer Contributions
One major issue we see in QDROs for 401(k) plans is how to divide the account’s contributions. The Anderson Development Co.. Employees Retirement Savings Plan-e almost certainly involves both employee contributions (salary deferrals) and employer contributions (such as matching or discretionary funds).
Employers often impose vesting schedules on their contributions. That means a portion of the employer match may not belong to the employee—or the alternate payee—depending on how long the participant worked for the company before the divorce. If an alternate payee is awarded a percentage of the “total balance,” unvested amounts could be accidentally included, causing problems later on.

