BILL NUMBER: SB 608 CHAPTERED 02/28/08 CHAPTER 1 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE FEBRUARY 28, 2008 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR FEBRUARY 28, 2008 PASSED THE SENATE FEBRUARY 19, 2008 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 12, 2007 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 7, 2007 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 12, 2007 INTRODUCED BY Senators Wiggins, Migden, and Negrete McLeod FEBRUARY 22, 2007 An act to add Sections 75074.5 and 75094 to the Government Code, relating to judges' retirement. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 608, Wiggins. Judges' retirement. (1) The Judges' Retirement Law permits a judge, at any time, including after reaching retirement age, to designate a beneficiary to receive the benefits as may be payable to his or her beneficiary by a writing filed with the board. This bill would provide that the designated beneficiary or beneficiaries of a judge who designated a beneficiary to receive an optional settlement benefit by a writing filed with the board, on or after January 1, 2003, and before January 1, 2007, who dies while in office, is entitled to receive the optional settlement benefit the judge elected, subject to specified limitations. (2) The Judges' Retirement Law provides certain benefits to the surviving spouse of a judge who dies in office, including, but not limited to, a benefit equal to 37.5% 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 if the deceased judge is credited with 20 years or more of service. This bill would permit the surviving spouse of a judge to 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 elected a specified retirement option if the judge died in office on or after January 1, 2005, the judge attained the minimum age for service retirement, the judge had a minimum of 20 years of service, and the judge was eligible to receive an allowance under specified provisions of the Judges' Retirement Law. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 75074.5 is added to the Government Code, to read: 75074.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the designated beneficiary or beneficiaries of any judge who designated a beneficiary to receive an optional settlement benefit by a writing filed with the board, in compliance with Section 75074, on or after January 1, 2003, and before January 1, 2007, and who dies while in office, shall be entitled to receive the optional settlement benefit the judge elected pursuant to Section 75071, subject to the provisions of subdivisions (b) and (c). (b) The benefit payable under this section shall be actuarially adjusted to an amount equal in value to the amount the judge would have received if the judge retired on the date of death. If the judge was not eligible to retire on the date of death, the allowance shall not be payable until the date upon which the judge would have been eligible to begin receiving a service retirement allowance under Section 75025. (c) If the designated beneficiary of a judge who dies while in office receives an allowance pursuant to this section, no person shall have any other claim to benefits otherwise available to the judge's designated or statutory beneficiaries with respect to the Judges' Retirement Fund or with respect to any other provision of the Judges' Retirement Law. However, if the judge's surviving spouse is eligible for an allowance under Section 75104.4, the allowance provided for by Section 75104.4 shall be paid and the allowance payable under this section shall be actuarially adjusted to reflect the benefit provided by Section 75104.4. All benefits paid under this section are subject to the provisions of subdivision (b) of Section 75074. (d) This section does not prevent a beneficiary from claiming or receiving payments to which he or she may be entitled under the Extended Service Incentive Program set forth in Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 75085). SEC. 2. Section 75094 is added to the Government Code, to read: 75094. (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).