Supplemental Security Income (SSI) cannot be garnished because it provides funds to allow elderly and disabled people to meet basic needs. The U.S. Department of Education can garnish other types of Social Security income to collect student loan debt, but only up to specific limits.
Garnishment
Creditors -- including the government -- can get a court order and take a percentage of a person's pay check in order to get money back for a debt. The person's employer or a government entity takes the percentage stated on the court order out of checks and sends a check to the creditor with that amount.
Student Debt
The government has extra privileges when trying to collect on debts. For example, the Department of Education does not need a court order to start garnishing a person's pay check. If a person defaults on a federal student loan, the Department of Education can start garnishing up to 25 percent of the person's pay check right away.
Supplemental Security Income
The Department of Education cannot garnish SSI, no matter how much a person owes in student loan debt. Garnishments can only take disposable income; SSI is a protected stream of income because it only goes to elderly and disabled people who need help paying for rent and groceries.
Rationale
Garnishments can only take 25 percent of a person's pay check or 30 times the national minimum wage, whichever is lower so as not to cause the person undue hardship. Furthermore, 25 percent is figured after deducting taxes, which is the Department of Labor's definition of disposable income.
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