How to Fill Out and Submit Form TSP-3: Designation of Beneficiary

Form TSP-3 is how you tell the Thrift Savings Plan who inherits your account when you die, and to fill it out correctly you need to enter your account information and beneficiaries in the exact format the form requires, sign and date it in front of a qualified witness, and get it to the TSP within 365 days of your signature. The designation on file controls the payout. A will, trust document, or divorce decree cannot override it.¹

You have two ways to file. The online path through My Account on tsp.gov walks you through every field and stores the designation electronically. The paper Form TSP-3 goes to the TSP by mail, fax, or upload. Either method is valid as long as it meets the requirements in 5 C.F.R. § 1651.3.² The rest of this guide walks through the paper form, which is where most mistakes happen.

What to Gather Before You Start

Have this ready for every person or entity you plan to name:

Full legal name
Social Security number or date of birth (the form is rejected without at least one of these)
Address

For a trust, you also need the trust’s full legal name, the trustee’s name and address, and the EIN if available. Form TSP-3 does not create a trust; the trust must already exist. For a corporation or other entity, provide the entity’s name, a legal representative’s name and address, and the EIN if known.³

You can name up to 20 beneficiaries in total across primary and contingent tiers. Any individual, firm, corporation, legal entity, or the U.S. Government is eligible.² Naming your estate is allowed but routes the account through probate. Spousal consent is not required, and beneficiaries do not need to be told they were named.

Filling Out the Paper Form

The form is scanned by machine, so legibility matters. Use black or dark blue ink and print in simple block letters inside the boxes.

Participant Information

Enter your name, Social Security number, date of birth, and account type. If you hold both a civilian and a uniformed services TSP account, check the box for the account this designation covers. Failing to identify the account when you hold both types will get the form rejected.

Primary Beneficiaries

For each person, list a full legal name plus either a date of birth or a Social Security number. Enter each share as a whole percentage. No fractions, no decimals. All primary shares must total exactly 100 percent.

Contingent Beneficiaries

Contingent beneficiaries are optional. They receive a share only if the primary beneficiary they are tied to has already died. The same identifier rules apply. If you name one contingent for a given primary, that contingent’s share is 100 percent. If you name multiple contingents tied to a single primary, their shares must collectively total 100 percent.

Do Not Alter the Form

Once you have written on the form, do not cross anything out, change a percentage, or use correction fluid. An altered form can be treated as invalid. If you make a mistake, start over on a clean copy.³

Signature and Witness Rules

This is where TSP-3 forms fail most often. Under 5 C.F.R. § 1651.3, a valid designation must be signed and dated by you and by at least one witness who is 21 or older.² The printed paper form may show space for two witnesses; follow the instructions on the version you download, but know the legal floor is one.

The witness must either watch you sign or hear you confirm that the signature is yours. A person named as a beneficiary on the form cannot serve as the witness. If a beneficiary does witness the form, that person forfeits their share, and if they are the only named beneficiary, the entire designation is invalid.² You and every witness must sign and date all pages on the same date.

One rule catches people out: the TSP must receive the form within 365 calendar days of your most recent signature. A form left in a drawer for over a year expires before it arrives.

Where to Send the Form

Send the completed and witnessed paper form directly to the TSP. Do not give it to your employing agency or military service.⁴ You have three submission options:

Mail: Thrift Savings Plan, P.O. Box 385021, Birmingham, AL 35238
Fax: 1-866-817-5023
Upload: log in to My Account and select “Upload Form” to send a scanned copy of the signed and witnessed document

After processing, the TSP sends a confirmation. Log in to My Account to verify the beneficiary information is on file, and contact the TSP if you do not see it.

Changing or Canceling What You Filed

Filing a new Form TSP-3 automatically cancels every earlier designation. You do not need a separate revocation. The most recent valid designation always controls.

To cancel your designations without naming new ones, check the cancellation box in Item 10, then sign, date, and get the form witnessed the same way. With nothing on file, your account is distributed under the statutory order of precedence in 5 U.S.C. § 8424(d): surviving spouse, then children in equal shares, then parents, then the executor of your estate, then next of kin under your state’s law.⁵⁶ If the account reaches the executor step, it enters probate, which is usually the outcome people file a TSP-3 to avoid.

When to Refile

Review your designation after every major life event: marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, or the death of someone you named. One rule surprises people more than any other: a divorce decree does not revoke your ex-spouse’s designation. The TSP pays whoever is named on the most recent valid TSP-3, regardless of what a state court ordered or what a divorce settlement said.¹ If you divorce and never file a new form, your ex-spouse inherits the full account even if they waived all rights to it in writing. File a new TSP-3 as soon as the divorce is final. If you remarry, file again.

Naming Minor Children or a Dependent With Special Needs

You can name a minor child, but a child under 18 cannot manage a retirement account. A court will likely appoint a guardian or conservator to oversee the funds, and that person may not be who you would have chosen. Establishing a trust and naming the trust as beneficiary gives you control over who manages the money and how it is used.

If a dependent receives SSI or Medicaid, a direct inheritance can disqualify them from those means-tested benefits. Naming a properly drafted special needs trust instead of the individual preserves eligibility. The trust must be structured by an attorney familiar with both federal retirement assets and disability benefits so it can accept TSP funds without creating an eligibility problem.

1
Thrift Savings Plan. Designating Beneficiaries
2
eCFR. 5 CFR 1651.3 – Designation of Beneficiary
3
Thrift Savings Plan. Form TSP-3 – Designation of Beneficiary
4
Library of Congress. Thrift Savings Plan – TSP-3 Designation of Beneficiary
5
GovInfo. 5 U.S.C. 8424 – Lump-Sum Benefits; Designation of Beneficiary; Order of Precedence
6
eCFR. 5 CFR 1651.2 – Order of Precedence