Employee and Employer Contributions
401(k) plans like the Zak Designs, Inc.. Retirement Trust often receive both employee contributions (the participant’s paycheck deferrals) and employer matching or profit-sharing contributions. While employee contributions are generally non-controversial to assess, employer amounts are usually subject to a vesting schedule.
In divorces, the QDRO should carefully separate:
- The participant’s contributions and any earnings on those contributions
- Employer contributions, based on vesting dates and plan terms
Your QDRO should explicitly state what portion of vested and/or unvested amounts are to be divided. If employer contributions are partially unvested at the time of divorce, it can affect how much the alternate payee (non-employee spouse) is eligible to receive.

