Filing requirements. To designate a beneficiary of a TSP account, a participant must complete and file a TSP designation of beneficiary form with the TSP record keeper. A participant may designate more beneficiaries than the TSP form accommodates by attaching additional pages to the TSP designation of beneficiary form in accordance with the instructions on the form. A valid TSP designation of beneficiary remains in effect until it is properly canceled or changed as described in § 1651.4.

Eligible beneficiaries. Any individual, firm, corporation, or legal entity, including the U.S. Government, may be designated as a beneficiary. Any number of beneficiaries can be named to share the death benefit. A beneficiary may be designated without the knowledge or consent of that beneficiary or the knowledge or consent of the participant's spouse. A participant may designate a custodian under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act provided that the custodianship is established under the laws of the District of Columbia and that the participant designates the custodianship using the Agency's designation of custodian form.

Validity requirements. To be valid and accepted by the TSP record keeper, a TSP designation of beneficiary form must:

Be received by the TSP record keeper on or before the date of the participant's death;

Identify the participant in such a manner so that the Agency can locate his or her TSP account;

Be signed and properly dated by the participant and signed and properly dated by one witness;

The participant must either sign the form in the presence of the witness or acknowledge his or her signature on the form to the witness;

All submitted and attached pages of the form must be signed and dated by the participant;

All submitted and attached pages of the form must be signed and dated by the same witness;

A witness must be age 21 or older; and

A witness designated as a beneficiary will not be entitled to receive a death benefit payment; if a witness is the only named beneficiary, the designation of the beneficiary is invalid. If more than one beneficiary is named, the share of the witness beneficiary will be allocated among the remaining beneficiaries pro rata.

Designate primary beneficiary shares which when summed equal 100%;

Contain no substantive alterations (e.g., struck-through shares or scratched-out names of beneficiaries);

Designate each primary and each contingent beneficiary in such a manner so that the Agency can identify the individual or entity;

For each contingent beneficiary, identify the primary beneficiary whose share the contingent beneficiary is to receive in the event the primary beneficiary dies before payment is made;

Not attempt to designate beneficiaries for the participant's traditional balance and the participant's Roth balance separately; and

Be received by the TSP record-keeper not more than 365 calendar days after the date of the participant's most recent signature.

Will. A participant cannot use a will to designate a TSP beneficiary.