Banks Cannot Garnish Income Guarantee Allowances
- ACRI
- 2 days ago
- 1 min read
Israeli law prohibits the garnishment of pensions for the payment of debts, except when it comes to payments for alimony debts. However, the income guarantee allowance cannot be garnished under any circumstances, even for alimony debt. This stems from the understanding that even someone who is obligated to pay alimony is entitled to a minimum standard of living in dignity, and that the income guarantee allowance is the last safety net for those in financial distress.
Despite the clear language of the law, ACRI has seen cases in which the banks did not comply with the provisions of the law. For example, a bank garnished all of the government benefit allowances received by a disabled elderly person—pension, income supplement allowances, disability—to pay off past alimony debt. Attorney Hagar Shechter from ACRI and Attorney Reut Cohen from the Law and Social Change Clinic at the University of Haifa approached the Supervisor of Banks with a request to issue a directive clarifying to banks that it is forbidden to garnish income guarantee allowances, even to pay alimony. We also requested that the Supervisor of Banks clarify that disability allowances should not be completely garnished in their entirety, and that an amount equal to the income guarantee allowance should be left for the alimony debtor so that they can pay their living expenses.
Appeal by ACRI and the Law and Social Change Clinic at the University of Haifa, August 11, 2025 (Heb)
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