U.S. Code » Title 42 » Chapter CHAPTER 7— SOCIAL SECURITY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS, AND DISABILITY INSURANCE BENEFITS

42 U.S.C. § 407

Assignment of benefits

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(a) In general

The right of any person to any future payment under this subchapter shall not be transferable or assignable, at law or in equity, and none of the moneys paid or payable or rights existing under this subchapter shall be subject to execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process, or to the operation of any bankruptcy or insolvency law.

(b) Amendment of section

No other provision of law, enacted before, on, or after April 20, 1983, may be construed to limit, supersede, or otherwise modify the provisions of this section except to the extent that it does so by express reference to this section.

(c) Withholding of taxes

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit withholding taxes from any benefit under this subchapter, if such withholding is done pursuant to a request made in accordance with section 3402(p)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by the person entitled to such benefit or such person’s representative payee.

(Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title II, § 207, 49 Stat. 624; Aug. 10, 1939, ch. 666, title II, § 201, 53 Stat. 1362, 1372; Pub. L. 98–21, title III, § 335(a), Apr. 20, 1983, 97 Stat. 130; Pub. L. 105–277, div. J, title IV, § 4005(a), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–911.)Editorial NotesReferences in Text

The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, referred to in subsec. (c), is classified generally to Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.

Codification

In subsec. (b), “April 20, 1983” substituted for “the date of the enactment of this section”, which was translated as meaning the date of enactment of this subsection, as the probable intent of Congress.

Amendments

1998—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 105–277 added subsec. (c).

1983—Pub. L. 98–21 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b).

1939—Act Aug. 10, 1939, amended section generally, incorporating provisions of former section 408 of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 1983 Amendment

Pub. L. 98–21, title III, § 335(c), Apr. 20, 1983, 97 Stat. 130, provided that: “The amendments made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall apply only with respect to benefits payable or rights existing under the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.] on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Apr. 20, 1983].”

Effective Date of 1939 Amendment

Act Aug. 10, 1939, ch. 666, title II, § 201, 53 Stat. 1362, provided that the amendment made by that section is effective Jan. 1, 1940.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 887 cases (113 in the last 5 years), 1955–2026 · leading case: State v. Catling, 438 P.3d 1174 (Wash. 2019).
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State v. Catling, 438 P.3d 1174 (Wash. 2019). · cites it 15× “*254 ¶1 This case concerns application of the Social Security Act's antiattachment statute, 42 U.S.C. § 407 (a), in the context of mandatory legal financial obligations imposed on a convicted felon.”
Sykes v. Bank of Am., 723 F.3d 399 (2d Cir. 2013). · cites it 5× “§ 1983 and alleging that, by placing an unlawful restraining order on his SSI direct deposit account at Bank of America, OCSE had violated 42 U.S.C. §§ 407 and 659 and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, deprived him of due process of law and equal protection, and violated…”
Commonwealth Ex Rel. Morris v. Morris, 984 S.W.2d 840 (Ky. 1998). · cites it 42× “212(2)(b), a statute that mandates inclusion of Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") benefits in the income computation for calculation of child support payments, is in conflict with 42 U.S.C. § 407 (a), an anti-attachment statute relating to SSI benefits.”
Carpenter v. Ries (In Re Carpenter), 614 F.3d 930 (8th Cir. 2010). · cites it 17× “Carpenter claimed the social security payment was exempt and should not be included in his bankruptcy estate, relying on 42 U.S.C. § 407 (“[N]one of the moneys paid .”
In re: David C. Welsh & Sharon N. Welsh, 465 B.R. 843 (9th Cir. BAP 2012). · cites it 12× “at 849, it also said that it could not find 13 bad faith based on exclusion of Social Security payments without 14 running afoul of 42 U.S.C. § 407 (a). Id. at 850 . The court went 15 on to explain that the adequacy of plan payments is determined by 16 the disposable income…”
Ali v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 552 U.S. 214 (2008). · cites it 4× “2d 972 (2003), we considered the clause "execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process" in 42 U.S.C. § 407 (a). Applying ejusdem generis, we concluded that "other legal process" was limited to legal processes of the same nature as the specific items listed.”
State of Washington v. Jason Michael Catling, 413 P.3d 27 (Wash. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 17× “42 U.S.C. § 407 (a) (emphasis added). 4 No.”
Marriage Of: Donna L. Tupper (nka Hagar) v. Michael L. Tupper, 478 P.3d 1132 (Wash. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 8× “42 USC § 407 (a).3 It also forbids the use of legal processes to reach such benefits.”
In re McFarland, 481 B.R. 242 (Bankr. S.D. Ga. 2012). · cites it 18× “Whether payments from exempt income streams lose their exempt status under 42 U.S.C. § 407 , 38 U.S.C. § 5301 , or O.”
In Re Welsh, 440 B.R. 836 (Bankr. D. Mont. 2010). · cites it 15× “The first is 42 U.S.C. § 407 of the Social Security Act which states: (a) The right of any person to any future payment under this title shall not be transferable or assignable, at law or in equity, and none of the moneys paid or payable or rights existing under this title shall…”
Alfred Crawford Daniel Carrasco Jerry Parker v. Russell S. Gould William Mayer, (Two Cases), 56 F.3d 1162 (9th Cir. 1995). · cites it 10× “The main issue on appeal is whether 42 U.S.C. § 407 (a) preempts the procedure whereby California deducts Social Security benefits from patients’ hospital trust accounts to pay for the cost of patient care.”
Guillermety v. Sec'y of Educ. of the United States, 241 F. Supp. 2d 727 (E.D. Mich. 2002). · cites it 20× “In doing so, the Court must reconcile an apparent conflict between three statutes: (1) 42 U.S.C. § 407 ; (2) 31 U.S.C. § 3716 ; and (3) 20 U.”
Show all 887 citing cases →
— 42 U.S.C. § 407(a) — 7 cases
State of Washington v. Jason Michael Catling, 413 P.3d 27 (Wash. Ct. App. 2018). “42 U.S.C. § 407 (a) (emphasis added). 4 No.”
Johnson v. Johnson, 2007 SD 56 (S.D. 2007).
In re Angley-Cook, 855 A.2d 431 (N.H. 2004).
Conroy-perez v. State, 2019 OK CR 5 (Okla. Crim. App. 2019).
Severs v. Severs, 813 N.E.2d 812 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004).
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