Employee vs. Employer Contributions
The plan is likely structured to include:
- Employee contributions: These are the employee’s own deferrals from their salary, which are always 100% vested and available for division through a QDRO.
- Employer contributions: These usually include matching contributions or profit-sharing contributions. These may be subject to a vesting schedule and complicate the division.
If a participant is not fully vested at the time of divorce, the QDRO should specify that the alternate payee’s share only includes vested amounts—or state how later-vesting benefits are to be handled, if at all. Unvested amounts may eventually be forfeited, and QDROs should clearly indicate that possibility.

