Is a debt collector contacting you while you're on disability? Here's what to do.

Receiving disability benefits doesn't prevent debt collectors from contacting you, but it does provide important protections. MonthiraYodtiwong/Getty Images Few sources of income are as legally fortified as a federal disability check. Social Security benefits sit behind decades of statutes designed to keep them largely out of creditors' reach, which is part of why the benefits exist: to cover the basics when work isn't an option. Still, a single phone call from a debt collector about an unpaid balance can make it feel like those protections don't exist, particularly in today's economic landscape, which is plagued by rising inflation , high consumer goods prices and other ongoing hardships. Part of the issue is that debt collectors have numerous tools they can use, including garnishment and levies, to pursue what's owed, and the pressure is also building on borrowers right now. Household debt is at a record high currently, and serious payment delinquency rates are climbing in tandem. And, as more people fall behind, more third-party collection activity is occurring — so there are lots of borrowers on the receiving end of letters, phone calls and lawsuits from debt collectors and creditors. If you're on disability and the collection calls have started, you may be concerned about what could happen next — and what the right steps are to take in this situation. …