§ 704.110.Rights and Benefits Under Public Retirement System
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 4. Exemptions · Article 3. Exempt Property · Last amended 1997 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 704.110 exempts contributions and accrued rights and benefits under a public retirement system without a claim, but allows child, family, or spousal support judgments to reach periodic payments through a capped support assignment order or lump-sum payments through the state's intercept procedure.
(1)"Public entity" means the state, or a city, city and county, county, or other political subdivision of the state, or a public trust, public corporation, or public board, or the governing body of any of them, but does not include the United States except where expressly so provided.
(2)"Public retirement benefit" means a pension or an annuity, or a retirement, disability, death, or other benefit, paid or payable by a public retirement system.
(3)"Public retirement system" means a system established pursuant to statute by a public entity for retirement, annuity, or pension purposes or payment of disability or death benefits.
(b)All amounts held, controlled, or in process of distribution by a public entity derived from contributions by the public entity or by an officer or employee of the public entity for public retirement benefit purposes, and all rights and benefits accrued or accruing to any person under a public retirement system, are exempt without making a claim.
(c)Notwithstanding subdivision (b), where an amount described in subdivision (b) becomes payable to a person and is sought to be applied to the satisfaction of a judgment for child, family, or spousal support against that person:
(1)Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), the amount is exempt only to the extent that the court determines under subdivision (c) of Section 703.070.
(2)If the amount sought to be applied to the satisfaction of the judgment is payable periodically, the amount payable is subject to an earnings assignment order for support as defined in Section 706.011, or any other applicable enforcement procedure, but the amount to be withheld pursuant to the assignment order or other procedure shall not exceed the amount permitted to be withheld on an earnings withholding order for support under Section 706.052. The paying entity may deduct from the payment being made to the judgment debtor, for each payment made pursuant to an earnings assignment order under this paragraph, an amount reflecting the actual cost of administration caused by the assignment order of up to two dollars ($2) for each payment.
(3)If the intercept procedure provided for in Section 11357 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is used for benefits that are payable periodically, the amount to be withheld shall not exceed the amount permitted to be withheld on an earnings withholding order for support under Section 706.052.
(4)If the amount sought to be applied to the satisfaction of the judgment is payable as a lump-sum distribution, the amount payable is subject to the intercept procedure provided in Section 11357 of the Welfare and Institutions Code or any other applicable enforcement procedure.
(d)All amounts received by any person, a resident of the state, as a public retirement benefit or as a return of contributions and interest thereon from the United States or a public entity or from a public retirement system are exempt.
Plain-English Summary
Public employee pensions get broad protection under this section. All amounts a public entity holds or is distributing for public retirement benefit purposes, whether contributed by the entity or by its employees, along with all rights and benefits accrued under a public retirement system, are exempt without the debtor filing a claim. That protection also covers amounts already paid out to a California resident as a retirement benefit or a return of contributions.
Support obligations cut into that protection, though. When a public retirement benefit becomes payable and a creditor is trying to collect child, family, or spousal support from it, the general exemption gives way to a support-specific framework instead. A periodic payment can be reached through an earnings assignment order for support or another enforcement procedure, but the amount withheld can't exceed what could be withheld from a comparable amount of ordinary wages under § 706.052 — and the paying entity can deduct up to $2 per payment for administrative cost. A lump-sum distribution can instead be reached through the state's benefit intercept procedure under the Welfare and Institutions Code, or another applicable enforcement procedure. Outside these support-specific mechanisms, subdivision (c)(1) leaves the amount exempt only to the extent a court determines under § 703.070(c).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my public employee pension protected from an ordinary judgment creditor?
Yes. Section 704.110(b) exempts all amounts held for public retirement benefit purposes and all accrued rights and benefits under a public retirement system, without filing a claim.
Can a public pension be reached to collect child or spousal support?
Yes, but through a specific mechanism. Periodic payments can be reached by a support assignment order capped at the amount allowed under § 706.052, and lump-sum payments through the state's intercept procedure.
Does the paying agency charge a fee for processing a support assignment against a pension?
Yes, up to $2 for each payment made under the assignment order, to cover the actual cost of administration.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 927, Sec. 1.5. Effective January 1, 1997.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as:public pension exemption californiaretirement benefits exempt from creditors california