Employee and Employer Contributions
401(k) plans generally include two types of contributions:
- Employee Deferrals: Funds the employee chooses to contribute from their paycheck.
- Employer Contributions: Often in the form of a matching percentage, subject to a vesting schedule.
In the QDRO, it’s important to define whether the alternate payee is receiving a share of total account value, just employee deferrals, or both employee and employer contributions. This distinction is often based on what has vested at the time of division.

