Can debt relief protect your Social Security or retirement income?

MoneyWatch: Managing Your Money Can debt relief protect your Social Security or retirement income? We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms. .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } By Angelica Leicht Angelica Leicht Senior Editor, Managing Your Money Angelica Leicht is the senior editor for the Managing Your Money section for CBSNews.com, where she writes and edits articles on a range of personal finance topics. Angelica previously held editing roles at The Simple Dollar, Interest, HousingWire and other financial publications. Read Full Bio Angelica Leicht April 13, 2026 / 2:35 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Certain debt relief strategies may protect your Social Security or retirement benefits, but the context matters. Francesco Carta/Getty Images It makes sense to assume that once you've retired, the financial battles that came with your working years are behind you. And, in some ways, that's true. You're no longer focused on earning a paycheck and socking money away, but if you're carrying debt, it doesn't age out in the same way that your working years do. Credit card balances, medical bills and personal loans can follow you well into your 60s and 70s, and when you're on a fixed income, the pressure of carrying unresolved debt can feel especially relentless.What many retirees and near-retirees don't realize, though, is that the rules governing debt collection shift considerably once retirement income enters the picture. Federal law carves out meaningful protections for certain income sources, but those protections aren't automatic, they aren't universal and they certainly don't cover every type of debt. Creditors know this, too, and the ones who skirt the rules are counting on borrowers being unaware of how to protect themselves.For people living on Social Security, pension income or retirement account withdr...