[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 5, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 5CFR1653.13]

[Page 293-294]
 
                    TITLE 5--ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL
 
         CHAPTER VI--FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD
 
PART 1653_COURT ORDERS AND LEGAL PROCESSES AFFECTING THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN 
 
  Subpart B_Legal Process for the Enforcement of a Participant's Legal 
          Obligations To Pay Child Support or Alimony Currently
 
Sec. 1653.13  Processing legal processes.

    (a) The payment of legal processes from the TSP is governed solely 
by the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act, 5 U.S.C. chapter 84, 
and by the terms of this subpart. Although the TSP will honor legal 
processes properly issued by a competent authority, those entities have 
no jurisdiction over the TSP and the TSP cannot be made a party to the 
underlying proceedings.
    (b) The TSP will review a legal process to determine whether it is 
enforceable against the TSP only after the TSP has received a complete 
copy of the document. Receipt by an employing agency or any other agency 
of the Government does not constitute receipt by the TSP. Legal 
processes should be submitted to the TSP record keeper at the current 
address as provided at http://www.tsp.gov. Receipt by the TSP record 
keeper is considered receipt by the TSP. To be complete, a legal process 
must contain all pages and attachments; it must also provide (or be 
accompanied by a document that provides):
    (1) The participant's account number or Social Security number 
(SSN);
    (2) The name and last known mailing address of each payee covered 
under the order; and
    (3) The SSN and state of legal residence of the payee if he or she 
if the current or former spouse of the participant.
    (c) As soon as practicable after the TSP receives a document that 
purports to be a qualifying legal process, whether or not complete, the 
participant's account will be frozen. After the account is frozen, no 
withdrawal or loan disbursements will be allowed until the account is 
unfrozen. All other account activity will be permitted, including 
contributions, loan repayments, adjustments, contribution allocations 
and interfund transfers.
    (d) The following documents will not be treated as purporting to be 
a qualifying legal processes, and accounts of participants to whom such 
orders relate will not be frozen:
    (1) A document that does not indicate on its face (or accompany a 
document that establishes) that it has been issued by a competent 
authority;
    (2) A legal process relating to a TSP account that has been closed; 
and
    (3) A legal process that does not relate either to the TSP or to the 
participant's retirement benefits.
    (e) After the participant's account is frozen, the TSP will review 
the document further to determine if it is complete; if the document is 
not complete, the TSP will request a complete document. If a complete 
copy is not received by the TSP within 30 days of that request, the 
account will be unfrozen and no further action will be taken with 
respect to the document.
    (f) As soon as practicable after receipt of a complete copy of a 
legal process, the TSP will review it to determine whether it is a 
qualifying legal process as described in Sec. 1653.12. The TSP will 
mail a decision letter to all parties containing the same information 
described at Sec. 1653.3(f).
    (g) The TSP decision letter is final. There is no administrative 
appeal from the TSP decision.
    (h) An account frozen under this section will be unfrozen as 
follows:
    (1) If a complete document has not been received within 30 days of 
the date of a request described in paragraph (e) of this section;
    (2) If the account was frozen pursuant to a legal process requiring 
the TSP to freeze the participant's account in anticipation of an order 
to pay from the account, the account will be unfrozen if any one of the 
following events occurs:
    (i) As soon as practicable after the TSP receives a complete copy of 
an order vacating or superseding the preliminary order (unless the order 
vacating or superseding the preliminary order qualifies to place a 
freeze on the account);
    (ii) Upon payment pursuant to the order to pay from the account, if 
the TSP determines that the order is qualifying; or
    (iii) As soon as practicable after the TSP issues a decision letter 
informing the parties that the order to pay from

[[Page 294]]

the account is not a qualifying legal process;
    (3) If the account was frozen after the TSP received a document that 
purports to be a legal process requiring payment from the participant's 
account, the account will be unfrozen:
    (i) Upon payment pursuant to a qualifying legal process; or
    (ii) As soon as practicable after the TSP informs the parties that 
the document is not a qualifying legal process.
    (i) The TSP will hold in abeyance the processing of a payment 
required by legal process if the TSP is notified in writing that the 
legal process has been appealed, and that the effect of the filing of 
the appeal is to stay the enforceability of the legal process. The 
notification must be accompanied by the documentation and citations to 
legal authority described at Sec. 1653.3(i).
    (j) Multiple qualifying legal processes relating to the same TSP 
account and received by the TSP will be processed as follows:
    (1) If the legal processes make awards to the same payee or payees 
and do not indicate that the awards are cumulative, the TSP will only 
honor the legal process bearing the latest effective date.
    (2) If the legal processes relate to different payees, the legal 
process will be honored:
    (i) In the order of their receipt by the TSP, if received by the TSP 
on different days; or
    (ii) In the order of their effective dates, if received by the TSP 
on the same day.

[68 FR 35510, June 13, 2003, as amended at 71 FR 50320, Aug. 25, 2006; 
72 FR 51354, Sept. 7, 2007]