IRA Protection from Lawsuits by State

In most states, an IRA is fully protected from a lawsuit judgment, traditional and Roth alike. Outside of bankruptcy, state law controls whether a judgment creditor can reach an IRA. A handful of states cap the exemption at a dollar amount, protect only what a judge finds necessary for retirement support, or leave Roth coverage unresolved.

In bankruptcy, federal law caps the IRA exemption at $1,711,975 for the money the owner contributed and its earnings, while money rolled over from an employer plan stays uncapped. No state’s exemption stops a divorce order, an IRS levy, or a federal criminal restitution order. The chart below shows each state’s rule and the statute behind it.

Are IRAs Protected from Lawsuits?

Yes. In most states, a judgment creditor cannot reach money inside an IRA no matter how large the balance grows. The protection comes from each state’s exemption statutes: when a creditor tries to collect a judgment by garnishment or levy, the exemption puts the retirement account off limits.

Several states go further and declare the account a spendthrift trust. Kansas conclusively presumes it, Washington deems it one however much control the owner keeps, and New York’s presumption expressly holds in bankruptcy. The designation puts the account in the class of trust interests a creditor cannot reach.

Protection for money already paid out of the account is less common. Oklahoma, New Jersey, and Rhode Island exempt distributions expressly. Texas keeps a distribution exempt for 60 days and indefinitely if rolled over, while New Mexico lets retirement money keep its exemption after it lands in a bank account.

What Each State’s IRA Exemption Says

Every state and the District of Columbia has a retirement exemption on its books, and the chart covers all of them. The first two columns show whether the state exempts a traditional and a Roth IRA from judgment creditors outside of bankruptcy. The Special Provisions column carries each state’s caps, lookbacks, and exceptions. The Authority column names the statute or decision behind the row.

On the chart, Yes means the state exempts the account, with any conditions noted under Special Provisions. Partly means the exemption itself is limited: California and Nebraska protect only what a court finds necessary for retirement support, and Virginia protects only up to a borrowed federal figure. Unclear appears once, for West Virginia’s unresolved Roth coverage.

Current as of August 2026. Download the IRA protection chart (PDF).

State	IRA Exempt	Roth IRA Exempt	Special Provisions	Authority
Alabama	Yes	Yes	Statute names Roth IRAs, SEPs, and SIMPLE IRAs directly; unlimited; exemption ends at the owner’s death except for a surviving spouse; not exempt from taxes, QDROs, excess contributions, or criminal restitution	Ala. Code § 19-3B-508(a)(4), (b), (c), (g)
Alaska	Yes	Yes	Inherited IRAs protected, with the exemption passing to a death beneficiary and to a lifetime transferee; contributions within 120 days before bankruptcy not exempt; QDRO claims not exempt	Alaska Stat. § 09.38.017(a)–(c), (e)(4)
Arizona	Yes	Yes	Inherited IRAs expressly protected; contributions within 120 days before bankruptcy not exempt; QDRO and child-support arrearage claims not exempt	Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1126(B), (D)
Arkansas	Yes	Yes	Contributions above the IRC-deductible amount (and their earnings) not exempt, but Roth IRAs are excepted from that limit; in bankruptcy the state list caps IRA contributions at $20,000 and denies contributions made within 1 year of filing	Ark. Code Ann. § 16-66-220(a)(1), (b); Clinical Study Centers, Inc. v. Boellner, 2012 Ark. 266
California	Partly	Partly	Traditional and Roth IRAs exempt only as needed for retirement support; for consumer debt the protected amount cannot fall below the federal bankruptcy IRA cap ($1,711,975), aggregated across accounts; tort and business judgments get only the support test; exemption yields to support judgments	Cal. Civ. Proc. Code §§ 704.115(a)(3), (c), (e)(1)–(2), (f), 683.110(d)
Colorado	Yes	Yes	Unlimited, and covers accounts already paying out; not exempt from child-support arrearage judgments or from a wrongful-death judgment against a person who committed a felonious killing	Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-54-102(1)(s), (3), (4)
Connecticut	Yes	Yes	Traditional IRA exempt only to the extent funded by a qualified rollover or by contributions within the annual IRC § 219(b) limits; excess funding is unprotected; contributions made within 90 days of the claim by a self-employed owner, partner, or 1% shareholder lose the exemption; QDRO claims not exempt	Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-321a(a)(1)(B), (C)(iii), (b), (c)
Delaware	Yes	Yes	Unlimited and available against ordinary judgment creditors; inherited retirement accounts expressly covered; not exempt from divorce, support, or QDRO claims, from a state tax judgment, or from a lien securing a plan loan	Del. Code tit. 10, § 4915(a), (c)–(g)
District of Columbia	Yes	Yes	No dollar cap, and the statute names Section 408A; the whole exemption list runs only to a head of a family or a householder; contributions above the deductible amount or the Roth limit, and their earnings, not exempt; QDRO claims and District of Columbia claims not exempt	D.C. Code § 15-501(a)(9)
Florida	Yes	Yes	Unlimited; statute names § 408A, so Roth, SEP, SIMPLE and rollover IRAs are all covered; inherited IRAs expressly exempt, retroactively; no lookback; not exempt from a QDRO or a surviving spouse’s elective share, and forfeited if the IRA is not maintained in accordance with its own plan document	Fla. Stat. § 222.21(2)(a)–(d); Yerian v. Webber, 927 F.3d 1223 (11th Cir. 2019)
Georgia	Yes	Yes	Undistributed IRA balance fully exempt from garnishment and, being a transfer restriction, excluded from the bankruptcy estate, so the federal cap never applies; once distributed, the money keeps only ordinary wage-garnishment protection, and in bankruptcy an IRA payment is exempt only as needed for support	O.C.G.A. §§ 18-4-6(a)(2), 44-13-100(a)(2)(F), (a)(2.1)(D); In re Hoffman, 22 F.4th 1341 (11th Cir. 2022)
Hawaii	Yes	Yes	3-year lookback: contributions made in the 3 years before a bankruptcy filing, or before a lawsuit is filed against the owner, are not exempt; QDRO claims not exempt	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 651-124(1)–(2)
Idaho	Yes	Yes	No cap and no lookback; treated as a spendthrift trust even if the owner can withdraw; not exempt from child support, a QDRO, or a maintenance or support order	Idaho Code § 11-604A(3)–(5)
Illinois	Yes	Yes	No cap, no lookback, and no support or QDRO exception; the plan must be intended in good faith to qualify under the Internal Revenue Code	735 ILCS 5/12-1006(a)–(c)
Indiana	Yes	Yes	No cap or lookback, but only pre-tax contributions, Roth contributions, their earnings, and rollovers are covered; after-tax contributions that are not Roth are not exempt	Ind. Code § 34-55-10-2(c)(6)
Iowa	Yes	Yes	Rollovers and IRA-to-IRA transfers exempt in any amount; direct contributions exempt only up to the deductible IRA amount, with earnings prorated; in the two tax years before the claim or bankruptcy every plan is capped at the deductible IRA contribution; QDRO, child support, and alimony not exempt	Iowa Code § 627.6(8)(e)–(f)
Kansas	Yes	Yes	No cap, and the plan is conclusively presumed a spendthrift trust; but not exempt from a QDRO alternate payee or a child support order	Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-2308(b)–(c)
Kentucky	Yes	Yes	120-day lookback: contributions within 120 days before bankruptcy, or, outside bankruptcy, before the earlier of judgment or levy, are not exempt; not exempt from child support or maintenance orders	Ky. Rev. Stat. § 427.150(2)(f)
Louisiana	Yes	Yes	Contributions made less than one calendar year before a bankruptcy filing, or before writs of seizure are filed, are not exempt; a transfer from one retirement account to another is not a contribution; alimony and child support are excepted	La. Rev. Stat. § 13:3881(D)(1)–(3)
Maine	Yes	Yes	$1,054,550 aggregate cap across all tax-qualified retirement accounts, CPI-adjusted every three years (next April 1, 2027); contributions within 120 days before bankruptcy, or before the earlier of judgment or levy, not exempt; child and spousal support not exempt	Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, § 4422(13-A)
Maryland	Yes	Yes	Not exempt from claims by the Maryland Department of Health or from a QDRO alternate payee; contributions above the deductible amount (or above the Roth limit), plus the earnings on them, are not exempt	Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-504(h)
Massachusetts	Yes	Yes	Contributions above 7% of income in the 5 years before bankruptcy or judgment not exempt, rollovers excluded; not exempt from divorce, separate maintenance, child support, or criminal restitution	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 235, § 34A
Michigan	Yes	Yes	Contributions within 120 days before bankruptcy not exempt; contributions above the deductible IRA limit for the year made (and their earnings) not exempt, rollovers excluded; not exempt from divorce, separate maintenance, or child support orders	Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 600.6023(1)(j), 600.5451(1)(k)
Minnesota	Yes	Yes	Exempt up to $84,000 (July 1, 2026 figure), plus any amount needed for support; adjusts only in 10% steps and only in even years, next July 1, 2028; no cap on ERISA plans; not exempt from support orders	Minn. Stat. § 550.37, subd. 24
Mississippi	Yes	Yes	Statute names Roth IRAs and 457(b) plans directly; no cap, no lookback, and no stated exceptions	Miss. Code § 85-3-1(e)
Missouri	Yes	Yes	Inherited IRAs expressly exempt; in bankruptcy, no exemption for a fraudulent plan for the 3 years before filing; not exempt from child support or maintenance orders	Mo. Rev. Stat. § 513.430.1(10)(f)
Montana	Yes	Yes	Only contributions made before the lawsuit was filed are exempt, though rollover contributions carry no such time limit; inherited IRAs are not exempt; not exempt from child support or spousal maintenance	Mont. Code § 25-13-608(1)(e); Matter of Golz, 2015 MT 318
Nebraska	Partly	Partly	Exempt only as reasonably necessary for support, traditional and Roth alike; no exemption if the account was opened or amended to increase contributions within 2 years before bankruptcy or judgment, or if it does not qualify under IRC 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408, or 408A	Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1563.01
Nevada	Yes	Yes	Exempt up to $1 million; inherited IRAs protected	Nev. Rev. Stat. § 21.090(1)(r)
New Hampshire	Yes	Yes	No cap; statute names Roth IRAs and safe-harbors rollovers from fraudulent-transfer attack; subject to the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act; applies only to debts arising after January 1, 1999	N.H. Rev. Stat. § 511:2, XIX
New Jersey	Yes	Yes	Excluded from the bankruptcy estate by statute, and distributions are protected too; not exempt from support orders, QDROs, voidable transfers, or punitive damages for manslaughter or murder	N.J. Stat. § 25:2-1(b)
New Mexico	Yes	Yes	No dollar cap and no support test; retirement money traced into a bank account keeps the exemption	N.M. Stat. § 42-10-1(A)(10)–(11)
New York	Yes	Yes	Uncapped and conclusively a spendthrift trust, in bankruptcy too; but additions made on or after the date 90 days before the creditor’s claim was interposed, including deposits made while the suit is pending, are not exempt, nor are additions voidable under Debtor and Creditor Law art. 10; QDROs and support orders get through	N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5205(c)(2)–(5)
North Carolina	Yes	Yes	Uncapped, no contribution lookback; statute names Roth accounts and expressly keeps the exemption for an inherited IRA held by a beneficiary	N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1C-1601(a)(9)
North Dakota	Yes	Yes	$200,000 per account and $400,000 in total, and only for funds in effect at least a year; the dollar limit, not the one-year rule, lifts to the extent a court finds the funds reasonably necessary for support; support orders and QDROs get through	N.D. Cent. Code § 28-22-03.1(7)
Ohio	Yes	Yes	Uncapped, but exempt only to the extent traced to contributions within the applicable IRA, Roth or rollover limits; assets deposited to evade a debt are not exempt; inherited accounts expressly exempt; child-support orders get through	Ohio Rev. Code § 2329.66(A)(10)(c), (e)
Oklahoma	Yes	Yes	No dollar cap and no lookback; distributions out of the plan are expressly exempt too, and plan-to-plan rollovers are safe-harbored from fraudulent-transfer attack	Okla. Stat. tit. 31, § 1(A)(20)
Oregon	Yes	Yes	No dollar cap, and the plan is conclusively a valid spendthrift trust even when self-settled; but a contribution that is not a permitted contribution is exposed to Oregon’s voidable transactions act, and against a support order only 75% of the interest, or 50% of a lump-sum withdrawal, is exempt	Or. Rev. Stat. § 18.358(2)–(3)
Pennsylvania	Yes	Yes	Contributions in the year before a bankruptcy filing are not exempt, nor are contributions above $15,000 in any one-year period, nor amounts deemed fraudulent conveyances; amounts rolled over directly from another exempt fund do not count against either limit	42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 8124(b)(1)(ix)
Rhode Island	Yes	Yes	Uncapped, and payments out of the account are exempt too; not exempt from a divorce or separate-maintenance order, a child-support order, or excess contributions under IRC § 4973	R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-26-4(11)
South Carolina	Yes	Yes	Uncapped; the exemption is available whether the person holds as participant, beneficiary, contingent annuitant or alternate payee, which likely but not expressly covers an inherited IRA; a fraudulent conveyance into the account reduces or eliminates it	S.C. Code § 15-41-30(A)(13)
South Dakota	Yes	Yes	Exempt up to $1 million, which the debtor must select and designate; a South Dakota court may cut the amount down if it finds $1 million excessive under the state constitution; no exemption against debts owed to South Dakota or its subdivisions, or against a QDRO	S.D. Codified Laws §§ 43-45-16 to 43-45-18
Tennessee	Yes	Yes	Uncapped; the statute names Roth IRAs; not exempt from a QDRO alternate payee or from claims of the State of Tennessee; plan records are exempt from subpoena	Tenn. Code § 26-2-105(b)–(c)
Texas	Yes	Yes	Uncapped; inherited IRAs and inherited Roth IRAs both expressly protected; a distribution stays exempt for 60 days, and indefinitely if rolled over	Tex. Prop. Code § 42.0021(a)(4)–(5), (b), (e)
Utah	Yes	Yes	Uncapped; inherited IRAs expressly protected no matter when the account was created; contributions in the year before a bankruptcy filing not exempt, except direct rollovers of exempt funds; not exempt from a QDRO or from a civil restitution judgment for contempt	Utah Code § 78B-5-505(1)(a)(xiv), (1)(b)–(c), (4)(a)
Vermont	Yes	Yes	Exempt only to the extent contributions were tax-deductible or excludable when made; a Roth IRA is exempt only up to the § 408A contribution limits; contributions made within one calendar year of a bankruptcy filing not exempt; capped at $5,000 against the Office of Child Support	Vt. Stat. tit. 12, § 2740(16)
Virginia	Partly	Partly	No Virginia figure; the exemption is whatever federal bankruptcy law allows, so a contributory IRA is capped at $1,711,975; employer-plan rollovers, SEPs and SIMPLEs sit outside the cap; no exemption against the owner’s own QDRO alternate payee, against state child-support enforcement, or against court process for child or child-and-spousal support; a married couple sued on the same marital debt shares one cap	Va. Code § 34-34(B)–(D); 11 U.S.C. §§ 522(d)(12), (n)
Washington	Yes	Yes	Uncapped, and the statute deems the account a spendthrift trust however much control the owner has; not exempt from child support collection, a QDRO, a court order for maintenance or support against an IRA, or collection of Washington’s state income tax (added 2026)	Wash. Rev. Code § 6.15.020(3)–(5)
West Virginia	Yes	Unclear	Uncapped and outside the state’s $15,000 personal-property cap, but neither exemption statute ever names § 408A, so Roth coverage is unresolved; a West Virginia debtor in bankruptcy may instead elect the federal exemptions, which do name Roth IRAs, at the cost of the federal $1,711,975 cap	W. Va. Code §§ 38-8-1(a)(5), 38-10-4(i)(5), (k)
Wisconsin	Yes	Yes	Uncapped for an ordinary IRA, but a self-employed owner’s own plan, one 90% or more for the benefit of owner-employees, is protected only to the extent reasonably necessary for support; not exempt from child or family support, maintenance, or a divorce, annulment or legal-separation judgment	Wis. Stat. § 815.18(3)(j)
Wyoming	Yes	Yes	Contributions within 90 days before bankruptcy not exempt; inherited IRAs protected; QDRO claims not exempt	Wyo. Stat. § 1-20-110(a)–(d)

Exemption statutes change. In 2026, Washington made its retirement exemption yield to collection of its new state income tax. Minnesota’s dollar cap stepped up to $84,000 on July 1, 2026, and West Virginia opened its federal-exemption election to bankruptcy debtors in 2023.

States with Dollar Caps on IRA Protection

Five states cap the IRA exemption at a dollar amount, and Virginia reaches the same result by borrowing a federal figure. Whatever sits above the cap is exposed.

• Nevada protects up to $1 million, inherited accounts included. The figure is fixed by statute and does not adjust for inflation.
• South Dakota also protects $1 million, but the debtor must select and designate the exemption, and a court may cut the amount down if it finds $1 million excessive under the state constitution.
• North Dakota caps protection at $200,000 per account and $400,000 total, and a fund qualifies only after it has been in effect one year, so a fresh job-change rollover can start unprotected. The dollar limit, but not the one-year rule, lifts when a court finds the money necessary for support.
• Minnesota exempts $84,000 as of July 1, 2026, plus any additional amount needed for support. The figure moves only on July 1 of an even-numbered year, and only when inflation since 2011 clears another full 10 percent step; the next possible adjustment is July 1, 2028.
• Maine exempts $1,054,550 in the aggregate across all tax-qualified retirement accounts, so a 401(k) and an IRA share one ceiling. The figure adjusts for inflation every three years, next on April 1, 2027.
• Virginia sets no figure of its own. Its statute exempts a retirement plan to the same extent federal bankruptcy law does, which caps a contributory IRA at $1,711,975 and leaves employer-plan rollovers, SEP, and SIMPLE money outside the cap.

Minnesota’s cap does not reach money still held inside an ERISA-qualified employer plan such as a 401(k), because federal law preempts the state cap as applied to an ERISA plan.

States with Needs-Based IRA Protection

California and Nebraska protect an IRA only to the extent a court finds it necessary to support the owner in retirement, and the standard reaches traditional and Roth accounts alike.

California added a floor in 2025: when the judgment is on a consumer debt, the protected amount cannot fall below the federal bankruptcy IRA cap, $1,711,975, aggregated across the debtor’s retirement accounts. A tort or business judgment gets no floor, only the support test. The exemption also yields to support judgments.

Nebraska applies its support standard to the entire account and adds a two-year rule. An account loses the exemption altogether if it was opened, or amended to increase contributions, within two years before bankruptcy or judgment.

Wisconsin shows how a support standard can single out the self-employed. An ordinary Wisconsin IRA is exempt without a cap. A plan maintained 90 percent or more for owner-employees, which describes a solo professional’s own plan, is protected only as far as a court finds reasonably necessary for support.

A support standard ties the protected amount to a judge’s reading of the owner’s circumstances rather than to the account balance. North Dakota’s statute spells out how that reading runs. The court weighs all of the debtor’s present and anticipated property and income, including property that is otherwise exempt.

Are Roth IRAs Protected from Creditors?

Yes, nearly everywhere. Almost every state gives a Roth IRA the same creditor protection as a traditional IRA. Most exemption statutes name Roth IRAs or Section 408A, the tax code section that creates them, and a few reach every IRA type through general retirement-plan language, Illinois and New Mexico among them.

A few states split the two account types. Arkansas denies protection to contributions above the tax-deductible amount but excepts Roth IRAs from that limit, so the Roth is the better-protected account there. Vermont exempts a traditional IRA only to the extent contributions were deductible when made and a Roth only within the Section 408A contribution limits.

California and Nebraska protect Roth and traditional IRAs alike, but only as far as their support standards reach.

West Virginia’s exemption statutes name individual retirement accounts but never name Section 408A, the Roth section, so their coverage of Roth accounts is uncertain. A 2023 amendment lets a West Virginia debtor in bankruptcy elect the federal exemptions instead, and those do name Roth IRAs, at the cost of the federal $1,711,975 cap that West Virginia’s own uncapped exemption avoids.

Are Inherited IRAs Protected from Creditors?

In most states, an inherited IRA is not protected from creditors. The federal bankruptcy exemption does not cover one. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Clark v. Rameker (2014) that an inherited IRA holds no retirement funds within the meaning of that exemption, because the beneficiary did not set the money aside for retirement. In a state whose own exemption reaches inherited accounts, the debtor claims the state exemption instead, and the state route stays open.

Eleven states have written inherited IRAs into their exemption statutes: Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. Texas names inherited Roth IRAs as well, and Alaska extends the exemption to an account the owner transferred to the beneficiary during life. South Carolina’s statute stops short of naming inherited accounts but extends the exemption to a person holding the plan interest as a beneficiary, which likely covers an inherited IRA.

Montana answers the question the other way. The Montana Supreme Court held in Matter of Golz (2015) that the state exemption does not reach an inherited IRA, following Clark. Alabama’s exemption ends at the owner’s death for everyone except a surviving spouse.

Where a state leaves inherited IRAs exposed, the owner can name a trust with spendthrift provisions as the account’s beneficiary instead of an individual. The trust receives the inherited IRA, and spendthrift terms can keep the account beyond the reach of the beneficiary’s creditors. Wyoming’s statute expressly counts a trust or trustee as a protected beneficiary.

How Bankruptcy Changes IRA Protection

Federal bankruptcy law caps the IRA exemption at $1,711,975 for the money the owner contributed and its earnings. The figure took effect in April 2025, adjusts for inflation every three years, next on April 1, 2028, and a bankruptcy court can raise it when the interests of justice require.

The cap, set by Section 522(n) of the Bankruptcy Code, has two built-in exceptions. SEP and SIMPLE IRAs sit outside it on the statute’s face, and money rolled over from an employer plan does not count against it.

The cap governs a debtor claiming the federal exemption list. Debtors in states that keep their own exemption lists in bankruptcy, including Florida, claim the state exemption instead, so a Florida debtor relies on Florida’s unlimited exemption rather than the federal figure.

Georgia debtors escape the cap another way. Georgia’s garnishment statute exempts an undistributed IRA in full. In In re Hoffman, 22 F.4th 1341 (11th Cir. 2022), the Eleventh Circuit held that the statute is an enforceable restriction on transfer, so a debtor’s Roth IRAs stayed out of the bankruptcy estate entirely. The court reached the same result for a traditional IRA in In re Meehan, 102 F.3d 1209 (11th Cir. 1997), and the federal cap never applies to excluded property.

Money paid out of a Georgia IRA keeps only ordinary wage-garnishment protection against a judgment creditor, and in bankruptcy an IRA payment is exempt only as needed for support.

Rollover IRAs and ERISA Protection

An IRA funded by a rollover from a 401(k), 403(b), or pension is protected differently from an IRA funded by the owner’s own contributions. In bankruptcy, the rollover money is exempt without limit; only contributed money and its earnings count against the federal cap.

Outside of bankruptcy, the distinction mostly disappears. The state exemption governs the whole account, and most states apply the same rule to rollover money and contributed money. Iowa is an exception, protecting rollovers and transfers between retirement accounts in any amount while capping direct contributions at the deductible amount.

For example, suppose a business owner rolls $2 million from a 401(k) into an IRA. In bankruptcy, the entire account stays protected. If a creditor sues in Nevada outside of bankruptcy, the state’s $1 million cap leaves the other $1 million exposed.

Leaving money inside an ERISA-qualified employer plan is almost always safer than rolling it into an IRA. Once funds move from a 401(k) or other ERISA plan into an IRA, they lose the ERISA shield against creditor claims outside bankruptcy and depend on state law instead. ERISA’s own shield holds against ordinary judgment creditors, in bankruptcy and out. The statute writes in three exceptions: a limited voluntary assignment, a qualified domestic relations order, and certain plan-directed offsets.

Exceptions That Apply in Every State

No IRA exemption, state or federal, protects against every kind of claim. Three kinds of claims reach the account in every state.

Divorce and domestic relations orders. A divorce court can award part of an IRA to the other spouse, and the transfer moves the account to that spouse without tax. No state’s IRA exemption blocks a divorce claim. Several state statutes, Florida’s among them, say so outright by denying the exemption to an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order.

IRS levies. The IRS can levy on an IRA to collect unpaid federal taxes, and no state exemption blocks a federal tax levy. A Florida appellate court held in Lawler v. SunTrust Securities, 740 So. 2d 592 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999), that the state’s IRA exemption could not stop an IRS levy, because state law cannot limit the federal levy power.

Criminal restitution. A federal restitution order reaches an IRA whatever the state exemption says, because federal law gives the restitution lien the reach of a federal tax lien. Alabama, Massachusetts, and a few other states also write criminal restitution out of their own exemptions.

IRA Contribution Lookback Periods by State

Many states deny protection for IRA contributions made within a set period before a bankruptcy filing, and several run the same clock from a judgment, a levy, or the lawsuit itself. The rules target last-minute transfers of exposed cash into a protected account.

• Alaska, Arizona, Kentucky, Maine, and Michigan deny protection for contributions made within 120 days before a bankruptcy filing; Wyoming’s window is 90 days. In Kentucky and Maine the same window also runs outside bankruptcy, from the earlier of the judgment or the levy.
• Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Vermont use a one-year lookback before a bankruptcy filing. Louisiana’s clock also starts when writs of seizure are filed, and a Louisiana transfer between retirement accounts does not count as a contribution. Arkansas puts the same one-year rule, plus a $20,000 cap, in its state bankruptcy exemption list.
• Pennsylvania separately denies protection, at any time, to contributions above $15,000 in any one-year period. Amounts rolled over directly from another exempt fund escape both of its rules, and Utah excepts direct rollovers of exempt funds as well.
• Hawaii applies a three-year lookback that runs from either a bankruptcy filing or the date a lawsuit is filed against the owner, so the lawsuit itself starts the clock.
• Massachusetts measures by income: contributions exceeding 7 percent of the owner’s total income over the five years preceding bankruptcy or judgment are not exempt, and rollovers do not count toward the 7 percent.
• Connecticut claws back contributions made within 90 days of the creditor’s claim, but only from a self-employed owner, a partner, or a 1 percent shareholder of the sponsoring business.
• New York protects the account without limit but not every deposit into it. The unprotected window opens 90 days before the creditor first asserts the claim and never closes: everything added after that date loses protection, including deposits made while the case is pending.
• Montana goes further than a lookback: contributions made after the creditor filed suit are never exempt, no matter how early the account was opened.

Florida has no contribution lookback period in its IRA exemption statute. A contribution made to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors can still be challenged as a fraudulent conversion under Florida Statute § 222.30, but a person who moves non-exempt cash into an IRA before any creditor threat exists has no lookback risk. Once IRA money is withdrawn and deposited in a regular bank account, its protection becomes uncertain, because Florida courts are split on whether retirement account withdrawals keep their exempt status.

How Florida Protects IRAs

Florida exempts every type of IRA from creditors with no dollar limit. Under Florida’s IRA exemption statute, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP-IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, rollover IRAs, and inherited IRAs are all protected, subject only to a divorce order and a surviving spouse’s elective share. The statute names Section 408A on its face. Its inherited-IRA provision applies retroactively, whenever the account was inherited.

The exemption carries one condition that has cost debtors the entire account. The IRA must be maintained in accordance with its own plan documents. In Yerian v. Webber, 927 F.3d 1223 (11th Cir. 2019), the Eleventh Circuit held that a debtor forfeited Florida’s exemption by running self-dealing transactions that his IRA’s own governing documents prohibited. In In re Hughes, a Florida bankruptcy court held the exemption forfeited where the owner borrowed from his own IRA, even though he repaid the money.

Florida’s statute has no custodian-location requirement, so the exemption protects a Florida resident’s IRA wherever the custodian sits. A creditor can still serve a garnishment writ in the state where the account is held, and the owner may then have to assert the Florida exemption in that state’s courts.

Where IRA Protection Is Strongest and Where It Falls Short

Most states, Florida among them, fully exempt an IRA from judgment creditors outside of bankruptcy. Florida’s exemptions from creditors reach every type of IRA, including inherited accounts, with no cap and no lookback. Nevada, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Maine cap the exemption at a dollar amount, and Virginia borrows the federal bankruptcy cap. California and Nebraska protect only what a court finds necessary for support, and West Virginia’s statutes do not clearly cover Roth IRAs.

Two limits apply everywhere. In bankruptcy, federal law caps the exemption at $1,711,975 for the money the owner contributed and its earnings, though employer-plan rollovers stay fully exempt. No exemption, state or federal, stops a divorce order, an IRS levy, or federal criminal restitution. One more rule holds everywhere: where the money sits decides its shield. A 401(k) or other ERISA plan is protected against ordinary judgment creditors whether or not the owner files bankruptcy, subject only to the exceptions ERISA itself writes in. A rolled-over IRA depends on the owner’s state.