TSP-17 Death Benefit Claim: The Current Online Process
What TSP-17 Was For
Paper Form TSP-17 was the death benefit claim used by surviving family members after a federal employee or uniformed service member died. It has been retired; beneficiaries now initiate a death claim through the TSP Life Events Hub. TSP-17 was not a beneficiary designation — that's Form TSP-3 — and reporting a death does not change who receives the account balance.
The beneficiary must report the death through the Survivor Portal to start the claim, even if the employing agency has reported it through payroll channels.
How Beneficiaries Report a Death
Report the participant's death through the TSP Life Events Hub. Have certified death documentation available and follow the portal's instructions for the information and documents required to complete the claim.
What Happens After You File
After the beneficiary reports the death and provides the required documentation, the TSP identifies the designated beneficiary from the most recent TSP-3 on file. If no TSP-3 exists, 5 U.S.C. §§ 8433(e) and 8424(d) set the order of precedence: surviving spouse; children and descendants of deceased children by representation; parents; executor or administrator; then next of kin under state law.
Processing time depends on the claim and any additional information TSP requires. Use the Survivor Portal for the current claim steps and status.
Distribution Options for a Surviving Spouse
A surviving spouse has the widest range of choices. If the account balance is $200 or more, the TSP establishes a Beneficiary Participant Account (BPA) in the spouse's name automatically. From there, the spouse can:
- Leave the funds in the BPA and continue managing them within the TSP's fund options
- Transfer part or all of the balance to an IRA or eligible employer plan via a direct trustee-to-trustee rollover
- Take a full or partial lump-sum distribution (subject to income tax, though no early withdrawal penalty applies to death distributions)
The BPA preserves tax-deferred growth and access to the TSP's low-expense-ratio funds — the G, F, C, S, I, and L funds remain available.
Distribution for Non-Spouse Beneficiaries
Adult children, other relatives, trusts, and estates cannot maintain a BPA. Non-spouse beneficiaries receive a single lump-sum payment, subject to mandatory 20% federal income tax withholding. The alternative is a direct transfer into an Inherited IRA, which preserves tax deferral but triggers the SECURE 2.0 Act's 10-year rule: the entire balance must be distributed by December 31 of the tenth year after the participant's death.
Free Download
Get the Federal Employee Death — First 30 Days Claims Checklist
Everything in this article as a printable checklist — plus action plans and reference guides you can start using today.
TSP-17 vs. TSP-3: The Distinction That Matters
TSP-3 is the beneficiary designation form that the participant files while alive. The TSP Life Events Hub is where a beneficiary reports the death and starts the claim; paper TSP-17 has been retired. Submitting TSP-3 after someone has died accomplishes nothing — it cannot retroactively change who receives the account.
The most common error is a surviving spouse who finds a blank TSP-3 in the agency HR packet and fills it out thinking it opens a claim. The beneficiary still needs to report the death through the Survivor Portal.
Filing TSP-17 Alongside Other Death Claims
The TSP operates independently from OPM, OFEGLI (MetLife), and the employing agency's payroll office. Reporting a death through the TSP Life Events Hub does not trigger or satisfy the FERS death benefit claim (SF 3104), the FEGLI life insurance claim (Form FE-6), or the unpaid compensation claim (SF 1153). Each must be filed separately with its own agency.
If you are managing claims across all six federal benefit channels simultaneously, the Federal Employee Death Benefits Claims Guide sequences every form in filing order so nothing falls through the cracks.
Get Your Free Federal Employee Death — First 30 Days Claims Checklist
Download the Federal Employee Death — First 30 Days Claims Checklist — a printable guide with checklists, scripts, and action plans you can start using today.