Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: California protects a traditional or Roth IRA only to the extent a court finds necessary for the debtor’s support in retirement, a discretionary standard rather than a dollar figure, and California is an opt-out state in bankruptcy.
The same question in other states: IRA Creditor Protection in Delaware, IRA Creditor Protection in District of Columbia and IRA Creditor Protection in Florida.
Confidence note: high. This page covers ordinary judgment-creditor protection under California law and the state’s bankruptcy exemption election; see the 51-jurisdiction summary at IRA creditor protection by state for how it compares.
How California protects an IRA from ordinary creditors
| Traditional IRA (outside bankruptcy) | Limited: exempt only to the extent necessary for the debtor’s support in retirement, a discretionary, case-by-case standard, not a dollar cap. Private and union employer plans are fully exempt; only self-employed plans and IRAs get the needs-based test. Cal. Civ. Proc. Code §704.115. |
|---|---|
| Roth IRA | Covered by cross-reference to IRC §408A; the word "Roth" does not appear in the statute’s own text. |
| Inherited / beneficiary IRA | Not addressed. |
| Bankruptcy exemption choice | Opt-out. |
| Carve-outs and exceptions | None recorded beyond the needs-based support test itself, which already limits the exemption to what a court finds necessary. |
The federal backdrop, the same in every state
Two separate systems can protect an IRA, and which one applies depends on whether you are in bankruptcy. Outside bankruptcy, in an ordinary lawsuit and judgment, only your state’s own exemption statute protects an IRA; there is no federal floor. Inside a Chapter 7 or 13 case, a debtor who lives in a state that allows the choice (see the table below) may instead elect the federal exemption list, which protects retirement funds under 11 U.S.C. §522(d)(12) for accounts exempt from tax under IRC §401, 403, 408, 408A, 414, 457 or 501(a). For traditional and Roth IRAs specifically (not SEP or SIMPLE plans, and not amounts rolled over from an employer plan, which stay unlimited), that federal protection is capped in the aggregate at $1,711,975 (11 U.S.C. §522(n), adjusted for inflation effective April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2028; the base figure was $1,000,000 in 2005 and is reindexed every three years). A state that has NOT opted out of the federal list still leaves the debtor free to use state exemptions instead if the state amount is better, since the debtor picks whichever list helps more, once, for the whole case.
A 401(k) or other ERISA-qualified employer plan does not depend on any of this: its anti-alienation protection is federal, unlimited and the same in every state, in or out of bankruptcy. See 401(k) vs. IRA creditor protection for that comparison in full.
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Source: WiserAdvisor’s service descriptionInherited IRAs are a separate question
In 2014 the U.S. Supreme Court held, unanimously, that an inherited IRA is not a “retirement fund” within the meaning of the federal bankruptcy exemption, in Clark v. Rameker, 573 U.S. 122 (2014). That holding controls only the federal bankruptcy exemption; it says nothing about what a state’s own exemption statute does outside bankruptcy, or about a state that has opted out and writes its own bankruptcy-time exemption list. Some states responded by amending their own statutes to protect inherited IRAs expressly; most have simply never addressed the question. See inherited IRA creditor protection for the full explanation of the ruling and its reasoning.
Statute and sources
Governing citation: Cal. Civ. Proc. Code §704.115.
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §703.130 (bankruptcy opt-out)
- Clear Money Guide, IRA creditor protection by state (18-state statute table)
Read September 4, 2026.
Related: IRA creditor protection, all 51 jurisdictions · 401(k) vs. IRA creditor protection · inherited IRA creditor protection.
General information drawn from each state’s own published statutes, not legal, tax or financial advice. Exemption amounts and rules are set by state law and can change by future legislation or court decisions; whether a specific IRA is protected in a specific case depends on facts this page cannot see. We are not a law firm, a tax adviser, or a fiduciary, and this is not personalized advice. Talk to a bankruptcy or asset-protection attorney licensed in your state before relying on any figure here.
Your home, not just your IRA: California also protects a share of your home equity from judgment creditors under a separate statute. See California homestead exemption: $300,000-$600,000, County-Tied for the current figure, the filing rule and the primary source.