Uncle Sam Expands Right to Collect Old Debts From Social Security Recipients

Generally, Social Security benefits are not available to creditors to collect unpaid debts. However, this is not the case if you owe money to the U.S. Government.
How does the government accomplish this? It simply "withholds" or doesn't pay the whole benefit due. This is referred to as "offsetting." The Treasury Department is allowed to withhold or offset 15% of a recipient's benefits until the debt is paid. However, your benefit cannot be reduced to less than $750 per month.
This has been the law for quite some time. However, there used to be a ten year statute of limitations-that is, benefits were not withheld if the debt had been outstanding for more than ten years. This ten-year statute of limitations was lifted with the passage of the 2008 Farm Bill.
What types of old debts are now collectable from Social Security recipients? Examples would be Small Business Administration loans, student loans, and Farm Service Administration Loans. The only debts still subject to the ten-year statute of limitations are unpaid income taxes.