Dividing Employee and Employer Contributions
Most 401(k) plans include both employee contributions (money deducted from paychecks) and employer contributions (matching deposits from the company). In a QDRO, both these types can be divided, but there’s a catch:
- Employee contributions are always considered marital property if earned during the marriage.
- Employer contributions may be subject to a vesting schedule—which means they might not all be available for division.
We always request the participant’s vesting statement to determine which employer contributions are fully owned and which are forfeitable. Any unvested employer funds won’t be assigned to the non-employee (alternate payee) spouse in the QDRO.

