1. Employee and Employer Contributions
QDROs can divide both employee (your own contributions) and employer contributions (matching or discretionary). However, employer contributions may be subject to a vesting schedule, meaning they are not fully owned by the participant until certain conditions—usually years of service—are met.
If the participant is not 100% vested in employer funds, a QDRO must clearly specify that the alternate payee will only receive a share of vested amounts. Otherwise, there’s a risk the alternate payee ends up with less than expected—and disputes can arise later.

