MenuSocial Security retirement benefits and disability benefits enjoy broad protection in bankruptcy. The most commonly used protection for benefits is the fact that social security income is excluded by statutory definition from income available to repay creditors. This means it does not count in the means test for chapter 7 eligibility, and is not considered as income used to determine the amount to repay unsecured creditors in a chapter 13 bankruptcy.
Social Security Exemption
Federal non-bankruptcy law exempts social security benefits from most sorts of collection activity, including bankruptcy proceedings. This should not be confused with the statutory exclusion of social security benefits from current monthly income, which protects social security recipients from the means test.
