(a) The TSP will only honor the terms of a legal process that is qualifying under paragraph (b) of this section.

(b) A legal process must meet each of the following requirements to be considered qualifying:

(1) A competent authority must have issued the legal process;

(2) The legal process must expressly relate to the Thrift Savings Plan account of a TSP participant, as described in §1653.2(a)(1);

(3) The legal process must require the TSP to:

(i) Pay a stated dollar amount from a participant's TSP account; or

(ii) Freeze the participant's account in anticipation of an order to pay from the account.

(c) The following legal processes are not qualifying:

(1) A legal process relating to a TSP account that has been closed;

(2) A legal process relating to a TSP account that contains only nonvested money, unless the money will become vested within 30 days of the date the TSP receives the order if the participant were to remain in Government service;

(3) A legal process requiring the return to the TSP of money that was properly paid pursuant to an earlier legal process;

(4) A legal process requiring the TSP to make a payment in the future; and

(5) A legal process requiring a series of payments.

(6) A legal process that designates the specific TSP Fund, source of contributions, or balance from which the payment or portions of the payment shall be made.

[68 FR 35510, June 13, 2003, as amended at 77 FR 26429, May 4, 2012]