For most retirees, Social Security benefits are an essential income source. In fact, Nationwide’s research revealed that over half of all U.S. adults who are either receiving Social Security already or who expect to receive benefits would not be able to financially survive missing even half of a monthly benefit check.
Obviously, this means Americans are very dependent on this source of retirement funds. Unfortunately, this could be a huge problem in the coming year, as there are some changes to the law that are underway that could lead to many more people having large chunks of their Social Security benefits garnished.
The good news is, there are two legal ways that retirees who may be subject to garnishment could fight against having the money they need taken from their checks. Here’s what seniors need to know about the coming Social Security garnishments in 2026, along with details on the legal options to protect critical benefits that they may need to keep them out of poverty.
Social Security garnishment becomes a much bigger risk
Garnishment is a method of collecting money that you owe. In the case of Social Security garnishment, the government takes some or all of your benefits before you collect the money because you have outstanding financial obligations to the government.
There have always been some circumstances in which retirees could have their benefits garnished. However, there have been some major legal changes recently that could significantly increase either the number of seniors having money taken from their checks or the amount being garnished.
Specifically, these changes relate to garnishment of Social Security benefits because of overpayments and garnishment of Social Security benefits because of delinquent student loan debt.
Social Security garnishment due to benefit overpayment
Overpayment of Social Security benefits is one of the leading reasons why benefits could be garnished.
Overpayments occur when Social Security miscalculates the amount someone is due and sends them more benefits than they should collect. The SSA then tries to recover this money by garnishing benefits or withholding subsequent checks. This happens to around two million people per year, according to documents obtained by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Traditionally, 100% of Social Security benefits could be garnished to satisfy an overpayment, but this amount was reduced to 10% during the COVID-19 pandemic by the Biden Administration.
The Trump Administration tried to restore the 100% garnishment in March, but after public outrage, agreed to only garnish a maximum of 50% of benefits instead. Still, this is a big increase from the 10% many people have gotten used to — and those who suddenly find themselves losing half of their retirement checks could find themselves in a very bad situation.
Social Security garnishment due to student loans
Overpayments aren’t the only reason that Social Security benefits could be garnished, and, in fact, there is a new threat to retirees that could be coming in 2026.
Older Americans who are delinquent on their federal student loans could end up facing garnishment of up to 15% of their monthly benefits as long as this doesn’t cause benefit checks to dip below $750. This could impact a significant number of seniors. In fact, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, there was a 3,000 percent increase in the number of Social Security retirees subject to forced collection between 2001 and 2019. There has also been a 5% increase in the number of student loan borrowers ages 62 and older just between 2017 and 2023 alone.
Beneficiaries got a break from garnishment for unpaid student loans during the Biden era, but the DOE announced an intent to resume collections starting in May. While the DOE then promised a temporary pause to Social Security garnishments in June, its debt resolution page has indicated that this is just a delay and there is an intent to resume collections. That could happen in 2026.
Legal defenses to garnishment if your Social Security is taken
With multiple potential garnishment threats on the horizon, retirees need to be aware of their legal options to fight against having benefits taken. Options include:
- Submitting an application to the Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Discharge program, which is a program that allows for cancellation of eligible federal student loans for people with permanent disabilities. If you can qualify for discharge and have federal student loans cancelled, you won’t have to worry about benishment garnishment anymore.
- Apply for financial hardship with the Department of Education. If seniors can provide documentation that their expenses would exceed income minus the garnishment, then retirees should qualify for a hardship exemption from the DOE. Unfortunately, fewer than 10% of beneficiaries facing forced collections applied for financial hardship, despite an estimated 82% qualifying according to the Government Accountability Office.
It’s important to understand these options to try to avoid garnishment of your benefits in the upcoming year. Retirees should make sure they’re taking appropriate steps to prevent their benefits from being lost due to collection activities in the upcoming year.