Employee vs. Employer Contributions
401(k) plans typically include both employee deferrals and employer matching or profit-sharing contributions. One critical factor in QDRO drafting is determining whether the alternate payee is receiving a share of all contributions or only the employee-funded portion.
In many plans, the employer matching contributions are subject to vesting. If the employee-spouse leaves before being fully vested, some of those employer-funded amounts may be forfeited. It’s important to define whether the award includes vested amounts only or both vested and unvested allocations as of a certain date.

