The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider whether the federal government can seize a person’s Social Security payments to pay off student loan debts that are at least a decade old.

Justices agreed to hear an appeal by James Lockhart, a disabled man who says he needs his monthly check to pay for food and medication. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the U.S. Department of Education, which wants to seize his Social Security checks.