{"data":{"id":"us/5-cfr-1653.12","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"5 CFR 1653.12","heading":"Qualifying legal processes.","body":"(a) The TSP record keeper will only honor the terms of a legal process that is qualifying under paragraph (b) of this section.\n(b) A legal process must meet each of the following requirements to be considered qualifying:\n(1) A competent authority must have issued the legal process;\n(2) The legal process must expressly relate to the Thrift Savings Plan account of a TSP participant, as described in § 1653.2(a)(1);\n(3) The legal process must require the TSP to:\n(i) Pay a stated dollar amount from a participant's TSP account; or\n(ii) Freeze the participant's account in anticipation of an order to pay from the account.\n(c) The following legal processes are not qualifying:\n(1) A legal process relating to a TSP account that has been closed;\n(2) A legal process relating to a TSP account that contains only nonvested money;\n(3) A legal process requiring the return to the TSP of money that was properly paid pursuant to an earlier legal process;\n(4) A legal process requiring the TSP to make a payment in the future; and\n(5) A legal process requiring a series of payments.\n(6) A legal process that designates the specific TSP core fund, source of contributions, or balance from which the payment or portions of the payment shall be made.","path":["Title 5—Administrative Personnel","CHAPTER VI—FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD","PART 1653—COURT ORDERS AND LEGAL PROCESSES AFFECTING THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN ACCOUNTS","Subpart B—Legal Process for the Enforcement of a Participant's Legal Obligations To Pay Child Support or Alimony Currently"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-5.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:23:53Z","sha256":"029dbf374302e58aacf9d7ffcac830b33c37d6df846d44b47603d0dc8c9e9a1d","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/5-cfr-1653.11","next":"us/5-cfr-1653.13"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}