Tuesday, June 02, 2009

SOME BANKS ARE SEIZING SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS

The Wall Street Journal:

A bipartisan group of legislators is pressing the Treasury Department to close a loophole that has allowed banks to seize Social Security and disability benefits from customers’ accounts despite federal rules intended to protect these benefits from creditors.

The loophole also has enabled some banks to seize from customers their recent $250 Economic Recovery Payments, payments to disabled veterans, and supplemental benefits to impoverished individuals from the Social Security Administration.

Federal law says creditors can’t take Social Security, disability, veterans’ and children’s survivor benefits to pay a debt. But the federal law doesn’t say how money deposited directly into bank accounts is to be protected—a gap that has given banks the ability to seize such funds.
Read More

1 comment:

airJackie said...

Just when you think things can't get worse. Banks receive a fee for taking money for collectors. Now let's see just how well the banks are doing. Banks got bailout taxpayers money, raised interest rates to the roof and now taking Social Security/Disaility benefits from the poorest Americans. Looks like stealing is looking up for banks and their CEO's. Seeing how many US citizens get Social Security/Disability I would say the Banks profit will be in the Trillions by the end of the year and Congress really could care less as long as their salary incease isn't touched.

Next Seniors will be told they have to pay taxes on the money they never got and the Disbility citizens will have to find a way to pay taxes too.