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Taxation, attachment and assignment of funds - 71 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5953

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     § 5953.  Taxation, attachment and assignment of funds.
        (a)  General rule.--
            (1)  Except as provided in paragraphs (2), (3) and (4),
        the right of a person to any benefit or right accrued or
        accruing under the provisions of this part and the moneys in
        the fund are hereby exempt from any State or municipal tax,
        levy and sale, garnishment, attachment, spouse's election, or
        any other process whatsoever except for a set-off by the
        Commonwealth in the case provided in subparagraph (i), and
        shall be unassignable except:
                (i)  To the Commonwealth in the case of a member who
            is terminating State service and has been determined to
            be obligated to the Commonwealth for the repayment of
            money owed on account of his employment or to the fund on
            account of a loan from a credit union which has been
            satisfied by the board from the fund.
                (ii)  To a credit union as security for a loan not to
            exceed $750 and interest not to exceed 6% per annum
            discounted and/or fines thereon if the credit union is
            now or hereafter organized and incorporated under the
            laws of this Commonwealth and the membership of such
            credit union is limited solely to officials and employees
            of the Commonwealth and if such credit union has paid to
            the fund $3 for each such assignment.
            (2)  Rights under this part shall be subject to
        forfeiture as provided by the act of July 8, 1978 (P.L.752,
        No.140), known as the Public Employee Pension Forfeiture Act,
        and by or pursuant to section 16(b) of Article V of the
        Constitution of Pennsylvania. Forfeitures under this
        subsection or under any other provision of law may not be
        applied to increase the benefits that any member would
        otherwise receive under this part.
            (3)  Rights under this part shall be subject to
        attachment in favor of an alternate payee as set forth in an
        approved domestic relations order.
            (4)  Effective with distributions made on or after
        January 1, 1993, and notwithstanding any other provision of
        this part to the contrary, a distributee may elect, at the
        time and in the manner prescribed by the board, to have any
        portion of an eligible rollover distribution paid directly to
        an eligible retirement plan by way of a direct rollover. For
        purposes of this paragraph, a "distributee" includes a member
        and a member's surviving spouse and a member's former spouse
        who is an alternate payee under an approved domestic
        relations order. For purposes of this paragraph, the term
        "eligible rollover distribution" has the meaning given such
        term by IRC § 402(f)(2)(A), and "eligible retirement plan"
        has the meaning given such term by IRC § 402(c)(8)(B), except
        that a qualified trust shall be considered an eligible
        retirement plan only if it accepts the distributee's eligible
        rollover distribution; however, in the case of an eligible
        rollover distribution to a surviving spouse, an eligible
        retirement plan is an "individual retirement account" or an
        "individual retirement annuity" as those terms are defined in
        IRC § 408(a) and (b).
        (b)  Authorized payments from fund.--The board shall be
     authorized to pay from the fund:
            (1)  In the case of a member who is terminating service,
        the amount determined after certification by the head of the
        department that the member is so obligated, and after review
        and approval by the department or agency's legal
        representative or upon receipt of an assignment from the
        member in the amount so certified.
            (2)  In the case of a loan the amount of the loan and any
        fine or interest due thereon to the credit union except 5% of
        the total amount due which is to be retained in the fund as a
        collection fee:
                (i)  if the member obtaining the loan shall have been
            in default in required payments for a period of not less
            than two years; or
                (ii)  at such time as the Department of Banking shall
            require the credit union to charge the amount of the loan
            against the reserve fund of such credit union.
        Any member who shall have pledged such rights as security for
        a loan from a credit union and, on whose behalf the board
        shall have made any payment by reason of that member's
        default, may not thereafter pledge or assign such rights to a
        credit union.
     (Oct. 7, 1975, P.L.348, No.101, eff. imd.; Oct. 5, 1980,
     P.L.693, No.142, eff. 60 days; Apr. 29, 1994, P.L.159, No.29;
     Dec. 20, 1995, P.L.689, No.77, eff. imd.)

        1995 Amendment.  Act 77 amended subsec. (a), retroactive as
     to subsec. (a)(2) to the effective date of the act of July 8,
     1978 (P.L.752, No.140), known as the Public Employee Pension
     Forfeiture Act.
        1994 Amendment.  Act 29 amended the entire section, effective
     immediately and retroactive to July 1, 1993, as to subsec.
     (a)(4) and 60 days as to the remainder of the section.
        Cross References.  Section 5953 is referred to in section
     8124 of Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure).

Last modified: November 27, 2007