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Home » Exemptions » Deferred Compensation Is Not Protected As Pension Or Wages To Head Of Household

Deferred Compensation Is Not Protected As Pension Or Wages To Head Of Household

ByJon Alper October 25, 2009May 22, 2020

Retirement plans are protected from creditors in Florida, except when the “retirement plan” is not a retirement plan. Consider, for example, a client who told me about his “Senior Executive Retirement Plan (SERP).” Initially, I told him his plan is protected from creditors as a retirement or pension plan. Upon further review, it turned out that this employer benefit plan is not protected by Florida law.

Florida Statute 222.21 protects tax deferred retirement and pension plans including most IRAs. The statute refers to specific IRS Code sections, and the debtor’s benefit plan must fit under one of the listed Code sections. After our initial meeting, this client sent me written information about his SERP. It turned out that the Senior Executive Retirement Plan was actually a deferred compensation plan. The employer withheld parts of the client’s salary until after retirement. The company’s plan did not fall under any of the IRS deferred taxation retirement plans listed in the applicable Florida Statute 222.21. The client suggested that his deferred compensation might be protected under Florida Statute 222.11 which protects from garnishment wages of a head of household. His current compensation consist of wages, and therefore, he argued that the same compensation paid after his retirement is also a form of protected wages.

Florida courts have not protected money paid or payable to a debtor as deferred compensation. A Florida bankruptcy court rejected attempts to protect a debtor’s deferred compensation either as wages under F.S. 222.11 or as a form of a pension under F.S. 222.21. (221 B.R. 537). This example illustrates the importance of examining statements and underlying documents of your financial plans to make sure they are protected under Florida law.

Last updated on May 22, 2020

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  • Learn More
    • Asset Protection
      • Asset Protection Guide
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      • Asset Protection Trust
      • Bank Account Protection
      • Car Accidents
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      • Doctors
      • Equity Stripping
      • Exemptions
      • Florida Residency
      • Fraudulent Transfers
      • Homestead Law
      • How Attorneys Help
      • Strategies
      • Tenants By Entireties
      • UTMA Accounts
    • Business Planning
      • Business Entities
      • LLCs
      • LLC Operating Agreement
      • Real Estate Investors
    • Offshore Planning
      • Nevis LLC
      • Offshore Bank Accounts
      • Offshore Planning
      • Offshore Trusts
    • Judgment Collection
      • Judgment Collection
      • Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency
      • Deficiency Judgments
      • Fact Information Sheet
      • Head of Household
      • IRS Tax Debt
      • Not Paying Judgments
      • Statute of Limitations
      • Wage Garnishment
      • Writ of Garnishment
    • Wills and Trusts
      • Avoiding Probate
      • Estate Planning
      • Gun Trusts
      • Inheritance Tax
      • Irrevocable Trusts
      • Last Will and Testament
      • Living Trusts
      • Living Will
      • LGBT Estate Planning
      • Power of Attorney
      • Probate
      • Special Needs Trust
      • Trust Administration
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      • Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
      • Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
      • Dealing With Creditors
      • Involuntary Bankruptcy
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      • Orlando Bankruptcy
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