If my house goes into a short sale or foreclosure, are my bank accounts with social security and pension money deposited in them at risk?

It depends on the law of the state where you live.

A short sale and foreclosure are two different concepts and have different consequences. With a short sale all of the lien holders agree to take less in a sale of your home. They cannot come after you for any more money. In a California foreclosure all purchase money loans are wiped out. They cannot come after you for the balance. However if you refinanced or took out a second later on these loans are NOT wiped out and they could come after you. I am a real estate broker and these is always is a major concern of my clients.