Article 5. Survivor Benefits of California Government Code >> Title 8. >> Chapter 11. >> Article 5.
The benefits of this article are payable only to the
surviving spouse of a judge who elects to come within this article.
Any person who becomes a judge after August 22, 1964, may elect to
come within this article within six months after becoming a judge or
three months after notice is mailed to him or her by the Judges'
Retirement System, except as otherwise provided in this section.
Election to come within this article is made by filing written notice
thereof with the Judges' Retirement System. Any election by a judge
may thereafter be revoked by the judge and a reelection may be made
at any time after that revocation.
Any judge who was married prior to January 1, 1990, and who had
not previously elected to come within this article, shall exercise
his or her election prior to April 1, 1990. A judge so electing shall
pay all the contributions he or she would have made pursuant to
Section 75092 had he or she been covered by this article as soon as
originally eligible pursuant to this section.
(a) If a judge who is credited with at least 10 years of
service but less than 20 years of service under this chapter dies
prior to retiring under this chapter, and while serving as a judge,
his or her surviving spouse shall receive a monthly allowance,
payable from the Judges' Retirement Fund, equal to 1.625 percent of
the monthly salary payable, at the time payment of the allowance
falls due, to the judge holding the judicial office to which the
deceased judge was last elected or appointed multiplied by the number
of years of service of the deceased judge.
(b) If a judge who is credited with 20 years or more of service
under this chapter dies prior to retiring under this chapter, and
while serving as a judge, his or her surviving spouse shall receive a
monthly allowance, payable from the Judges' Retirement Fund, equal
to 37 1/2 percent of the monthly salary payable, at the time the
payment of the allowance falls due, to the judge holding the judicial
office to which the deceased judge was last elected or appointed.
(c) For the purposes of this section any fraction of a year equals
one year. The allowance is payable commencing upon the death of the
judge and continuing until the death of the surviving spouse.
(d) If the surviving spouse is eligible for an allowance under
Section 75104.4, the allowance provided for by Section 75104.4 shall
be paid and no allowance shall be made under this article. If an
allowance is paid under this section, no payment shall be made
pursuant to Section 75104 or 75104.5.
Any judge electing to come within this article shall
contribute two dollars ($2) a month to the Judges' Retirement Fund.
Such contribution shall be deducted from the monthly salary of each
judge so electing by the State Controller and each county auditor in
the same manner as deductions are made pursuant to Sections 75102 and
75103. The Legislature reserves the right to increase the rate of
contribution prescribed by this section in such amount as it may find
appropriate.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article to
the contrary, the surviving spouse of any judge who died in office on
or after January 1, 1987, shall receive a monthly allowance, equal
to 25 percent of the monthly salary payable at the time payment of
the allowance falls due, to the judge last holding the judicial
office to which the deceased judge was last elected or appointed.
(b) A surviving spouse who receives an allowance pursuant to this
section shall have no other claim with respect to the Judges'
Retirement Fund or with respect to any other provisions of the Judges'
Retirement Law except that a surviving spouse who receives an
allowance pursuant to this section on account of a death in office on
or after January 1, 1987, and who was eligible to elect the
allowance payable pursuant to Section 75091, may elect, within a
24-month period after the date of the death of the judge, to become
subject to Section 75091 in lieu of the benefit payable pursuant to
this section, and that any surviving spouse who was, prior to January
1, 1987, eligible to elect the monthly allowance provided by Section
75091 but, instead, had elected at the time of the judge's death,
the monthly allowance payable pursuant to this section, may elect,
within a 24-month period after the date of the death of the judge, to
receive the monthly allowance provided by Section 75091 in lieu of
the benefit payable pursuant to this section. An election revoking
the benefit payable pursuant to this section and electing to receive
the monthly allowance payable pursuant to Section 75091 shall be
filed with the Judges' Retirement System and the effective date of
payment provided by Section 75091 shall be the first of the month
following the date on which that election was filed.
(c) This section does not prevent a surviving spouse from claiming
or receiving any payments to which he or she may be entitled as a
beneficiary under the Extended Service Incentive Program set forth in
Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 75085).
(d) If the surviving spouse has received a benefit under Division
4 (commencing with Section 3201) of the Labor Code, on account of the
death of a judge, the amount of that benefit shall be deducted from
the allowance payable under this section.
(e) The allowance provided by this section shall be payable
commencing with the day following the date of the judge's death.
(f) This section does not apply to the death of any retired judge
while serving on assignment in any court.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to
the contrary, the surviving spouse of a judge shall receive an
allowance that is equal to the amount that the judge would have
received had the judge been retired from service on the date of his
or her death and had elected optional settlement 2 specified in
subdivision (b) of Section 75071, if all of the following apply to
the judge:
(1) The judge died in office on or after January 1, 2005.
(2) The judge had attained the minimum age for service retirement
applicable to the judge preceding his or her death, with a minimum of
20 years of service.
(3) The judge was eligible to receive an allowance pursuant to
Section 75025 or 75033.5.
(b) A surviving spouse receiving an allowance pursuant to this
section shall have no other claim to benefits with respect to the
Judges' Retirement Fund or with respect to any other provision of the
Judges' Retirement Law.
(c) The benefits provided by this section are only payable to the
surviving spouse of a judge who elects to come within this section.
Notwithstanding Section 75090, that election may be made at any time
while the judge is in office and, once made, the election is
irrevocable.
(d) This section does not prevent a surviving spouse from claiming
or receiving any payments to which he or she may be entitled as a
beneficiary under the Extended Service Incentive Program set forth in
Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 75085).