Are you a New York resident who maintains a bank account that consists of retirement or pension funds? If so, you should be aware that those retirement funds are beyond the reach of creditors attempting to levy and/or restrain that bank account. This means that if a creditor restrains your bank account in an attempt to collect on or enforce a judgment, you can claim the retirement funds as exempt under the law and gain access to that bank account.
Federal law provides that civil service retirement benefits are not assignable or subject to execution, levy, attachment, garnishment or other legal process. Military retirement pay is also exempt under federal law. New York State exempts payments from public as well as private pension and retirement accounts. In New York, it does not matter whether your pension and/or retirement accounts are employer-sponsored - both types are exempt under CPLR §5222, the statute that governs exemptions.
If you have recently deposited any retirement funds into a bank account that is currently restrained, we encourage you to contact us at The Langel Firm immediately so that we may discuss your options and potentially claim the funds as exempt under the law in order to get the bank account released and ensure you have access to the funds in that account.