Whether your disability payments can be garnished to satisfy your child support obligations generally depends on the type of benefits you receive, and whether your child support payments are current.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability payments are administered by the federal government’s Social Security Administration, and provide monthly cash payments to low-income elderly or disabled individuals—including blind or disabled children. You must have very few assets to be eligible for SSI. And for children on SSI, the Social Security Administration reduces the child’s SSI benefit by two-thirds of the amount that is paid in child support. SSI benefits cannot be garnished for child support payments, and is not counted as income when calculating child support payment obligations.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a program administered by the Social Security Administration, and provides monthly cash benefits to disabled individuals and families who have a significant history of working (an individual generally must have worked for five of the previous ten years). There is no limit on the assets an individual can have and still be eligible for SSDI benefits. SSDI benefits can be garnished for child support payments, and is counted as income when calculating child support payment obligations.


When you receive disability benefits your dependents may also be eligible to receive auxiliary benefits (family benefits or family allowance) under your name. But any auxiliary benefits your children receive do not go toward meeting your child support obligations, and are in addition to what you owe for child support.

In Georgia, whether disability payments can be garnished for child support depends on the type of disability benefits received. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is designed for low-income individuals who are elderly or disabled and has strict asset limits. SSI benefits are protected from garnishment for child support and are not considered income for the purpose of calculating child support obligations. On the other hand, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits are available to individuals with a significant work history and are not asset-dependent. SSDI can be garnished for child support, and these benefits are factored into the calculation of child support payments. Additionally, any auxiliary benefits that a recipient's dependents may receive under the recipient's SSDI do not count towards fulfilling the recipient's child support obligations; these are considered separate from the support owed.