NOTICE: I received so many comments and questions about the issues of child support and Social Security disability that I set up a separate blog about this topic – www.childsupportandsocialsecuritydisability.com. Please visit this new blog to post comments and ask questions.
–Jonathan
Can you SSDI benefits be seized to pay past due child support? Yes, according to Social Security Ruling 79-4, the Social Security Administration can withhold a percentage of a claimant’s benefits in an amount equal to what SSA could withhold to pay delinquent income tax debt.
No interest or penalties may be withheld, and before the first withholding may commence, SSA must give the claimant 60 days notice.
There is a question in my mind as to whether SSI benefits may be seized to pay delinquent child support. The web site esocialsecurityappeal.com states that a “custodial parent has no right to any of the proceeds from SSI.” Tim Moore, the editor of DisabilitySecrets.com also states that SSI recipients will not have their monthly disability benefits and past due benefits seize. According to Mr. Moore, the rationale to protect SSI from levy relates to the nature of SSI as a welfare benefit: “since SSI is essentially a public welfare benefit and does not derive not from a claimant’s earnings record, SSI benefits cannot be taken for other purposes, just as food stamps and AFDC funds, likewise, cannot be seized.” Continue reading →