An inmate filed a petition for review with the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, arguing that the Department of Corrections illegally seized more than $2,500 paid to the inmate from a retirement annuity plan under a qualified domestic relations order due to his mother’s death. At issue were the defendant’s preliminary objections. The inmate claimed that the funds were exempt from collection under 42 Pa.C.S. § 8124. The Court ruled the statute specifically provides that only a pension or annuity plan granted or paid to a “retired employee” shall be exempt from attachment or execution on a judgment. Given that these funds were part of a qualified domestic relations order, the Court ruled that the statute provided no respite and sustained the preliminary objections.
