[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 5, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 5CFR1653.3]

[Page 281-282]
 
                    TITLE 5--ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL
 
         CHAPTER VI--FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD
 
PART 1653--DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDERS AFFECTING THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN ACCOUNTS--Table of Contents
 
               Subpart A--Retirement Benefits Court Orders
 
Sec. 1653.3  Processing retirement benefits court orders.

    (a) Board's review of retirement benefits court orders is governed 
solely by the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act (FERSA), 5 U.S.C. 
Chapter 84, and by the terms of this part. The Board will honor 
retirement benefits court orders properly issued by a court of any 
state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, 
the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands, and any Indian 
court as defined by 25 U.S.C. 1301(3). However, those courts have no 
jurisdiction over the Board and the Board cannot be made a party to the 
underlying domestic relations proceedings.
    (b) Retirement benefits court orders should be submitted to the 
Board's recordkeeper at the following address: Thrift Savings Plan 
Service Office, National Finance Center, P.O. Box 61500, New Orleans, 
Louisiana 70161-1500. Receipt by the recordkeeper will be considered 
receipt by the Board.
    (c) Upon receipt of a document that purports to be a qualifying 
retirement benefits court order, including preliminary and subsequent 
court orders, the participant's account will be frozen. After the 
account is frozen, no withdrawals or loans will be allowed until the 
account is unfrozen. All other account activity, including 
contributions, adjustments, and interfund transfers, will be permitted.
    (d) The following documents will not be treated as purporting to be 
qualifying retirement benefits court orders. Therefore accounts of 
participants to whom such orders relate will not be frozen and these 
documents will not be reviewed by the Board:
    (1) A document that does not indicate on its face (or accompany a 
document that establishes) that it has been issued or approved by a 
court;
    (2) A court order relating to a TSP account that has been closed;
    (3) A court order dated prior to June 6, 1986;
    (4) A court order that fails to award all or any part of the TSP 
account to anyone other than the participant;
    (5) A court order that does not mention retirement benefits.
    (e) After the participant's account is frozen, the document will be 
reviewed initially to determine if it is a complete original or copy of 
a retirement benefits court order.
    (f) If it is determined that the document is not complete, a 
complete document will be requested. If it is not received within 30 
days of the date of such request, the account will be unfrozen and no 
further action will be taken with respect to the document.
    (g) Upon receipt of a complete order that is either an original or a 
copy of a retirement benefits court order, the Board will review the 
order and will determine whether it is a qualifying order as described 
in Sec. 1653.2 and, if it awards an amount to be paid from a 
participant's TSP account, the amount of the entitlement. The Board will 
advise all parties in writing of its decision.
    (h) The Board's decision will contain the following information:
    (1) The Board's determination regarding whether the court order is 
qualifying;
    (2) A statement of the applicable statute or regulations;
    (3) If the order is determined to be qualifying, a statement 
regarding the effect that compliance with the court order will have on 
the participant's TSP account; and
    (4) If the order requires payment, a description of the method by 
which the entitlement under the court order was

[[Page 282]]

calculated and the circumstances under which payment will be made.
    (i) The Board's decision will be final. There is no administrative 
appeal from the decision.
    (j) An account frozen under this section will be unfrozen as 
follows:
    (1) If a complete document has not been received within 30 days from 
the date of a request described in paragraph (f) of this section, upon 
expiration of the 30-day period;
    (2) If the order is a preliminary order or other order precluding 
payment from the account, as soon as practicable after receipt of a 
certified copy or original court order vacating or superseding such 
order (unless the order vacating or superseding the preliminary order 
itself warrants placing a freeze on the account);
    (3) If the order is valid to award a payment from the TSP account of 
a participant under this part, upon payment; and
    (4) If the Board determines that the order is not a qualifying order 
under this part, 45 days after issuance of the Board's decision. The 45-
day period will be terminated if both parties submit a written request 
for such a termination to the Board.
    (k)(1) the Board will hold in abeyance the processing of a court 
order payment pursuant to a previously approved qualifying court order 
if the Board is advised by one of the parties that the underlying court 
order is on appeal in the state court system and that the effect of the 
filing of such an appeal under state law or procedures is to stay the 
effect of the order.
    (i) Proper documentation of the appeal and citations to legal 
authority which address the effect of the filing of such an appeal must 
be provided.
    (ii) The parties will be notified that the processing of the court 
order is being held in abeyance and the account will remain frozen for 
loans and withdrawal.
    (iii) In the absence of proper documentation and appropriate legal 
authority, the Board will presume that the provisions relating to the 
TSP in the court order remain valid and will proceed with the payment 
process.
    (2) The Board must be notified in writing by one of the parties of 
the disposition of the appeal in order for the freeze to be removed from 
the account or for a payment to be made. The notification must include a 
statement regarding the effect of the disposition on the provisions of 
the original order relating to the TSP and a copy of the resulting 
document from the court must be provided.
    (l) Multiple court orders pending before the Board will be processed 
in accordance with the procedures set forth in this part in the 
following order:
    (1) As between conflicting qualifying court orders relating to the 
same spouse or former spouse, the Board will process only the court 
order bearing the latest date entered by the clerk of the court. If any 
order does not have a date entered, then the date the order was filed by 
the clerk shall be used; if there is no date entered or date filed, then 
the date the order was signed by the judge shall be used.
    (2) As between conflicting qualifying court orders relating to two 
or more former spouses, the Board will process the orders in the order 
of the dates entered by the clerk of the court, starting with the order 
bearing the earliest date, and continuing until the account is 
exhausted. If any order does not have a date entered, then the date the 
order was filed by the clerk shall be used; if there is no date entered 
or date filed, then the date the order was signed by the judge shall be 
used.