I'm particularly interested in whether if other side in a court case happens to get my social security number- can they search and find social security payments made to me through the social security administration's Direct Express card program?
If a creditor other than the federal government tries to garnish your Social Security benefits, inform them that such an action violates Section 207 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 407).
Section 207 bars garnishment of your benefits. It can also be used as a defense if your benefits are incorrectly garnished. SSA has responsibility for protecting benefits against garnishment, assignments and other legal processes usually ends when the beneficiary is paid. However, once paid, benefits continue to be protected under section 207 of Act as long as they are identifiable as Social Security benefits.
However, the creditor may go after your bank account or other assets. You may lose the federal Social Security protection if you co-mingle your SSA money with other monies. Check with an attorney in your state.
Effective May 1, 2011, a new Federal regulation requires that banks which receive a garnishment order for an account into which Social Security, VA, Railroad Retirement, or Federal pensions have been deposited, must look more closely before honoring the garnishment order. The bank has to figure out the sum of such Federal benefit payments that have been deposited to the account during a two month period, and must ensure that the account holder has access to an amount equal to that sum or to the current balance of the account, whichever is lower.
Under this new regulation, you do not forfeit your protection from garnishment by mingling your Federal checks with other money -- but there are limits on the amount of money in your account that's protected from garnishment.
Federal law says that many Federal benefit payments like Social Security benefits, Supplemental Security Income benefits, Veteran’s benefits, Railroad Retirement benefits, and benefits from the Office of Personnel Management are not subject to garnishment in most cases. This means that these funds are exempt.
Your bank may be required to automatically protect some of your Federal benefits if they are direct deposited into your bank account and you may be able to stop your creditors from taking other exempt funds from your bank account.
However, there are some exceptions. For example, your Veteran’s benefits, Social Security, or other government benefits may be garnished to pay delinquent child support or federal taxes.
(see: http://www.helpwithmybank.gov/get-answers/bank-accounts/garnishments/faq-bank-accounts-garnishments-04.html)
As for the garnishment of your SSD, these payments are what is known as "exempt" funds. This means that they cannot be garnished by a creditors. There was a time that a creditor could freeze bank account in an attempt to get such money. If you did not object within a specified timeframe then the money would in fact be paid over by your bank even though the money was exempt. But this is no longer the case. Now, if exempt funds are paid into an account via direct deposit, they cannot be frozen in your account (although other non-exempt money can be). So as long as you have direct deposit (that means that you do not deposit a check), your creditor cannot garnish your disability payments.
Note: Only 2 months worth of benefits are protected. Additionally, don't transfer benefits to another account or else the protection is void.
Also, please note that as far as mortgage debt goes, if your mortgage is via a VA loan then The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 also gives the VA authority to garnish the Social Security benefits of people who owe the VA money. This means that the VA can take your Social Security benefits until the amount you owe has been fully repaid.
No, the Social Security information should be kept confidential and not shared with anyone outside of Social Security except claimants, beneficiaries and people who need to know (like a bank to set up direct deposit, for example.)
