Are Social Security Benefits Exempt From Collection?

The short answer is yes – maybe. If you owe someone money and they get a judgment against you in court then they will try to collect that judgement.  They do that by attacking your income and resources. Yikes, you already have barely enough to get by on and now someone wants to take that. Initially, any SSA benefits are exempt from collection. The problem is that a lot of people will mix their SSA benefits with other income. This happens most often when a couple has a joint bank account.  All their income is deposited in one account, including the SSA benefit. Since the benefit has been mixed with other money, it looses its protective status. The best way to make sure that your benefits remain exempt from collection is to have them deposited into an account that receives no other income. So just keep your SSA benefits separate from other income and you should be safe.