SECTIONS 75500-75508

75500.  (a) This chapter shall be known and may be cited as theJudges' Retirement System II Law. (b) Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 75000) shall not apply tothis chapter and shall not apply to judges, as defined in Section75502.75501.  Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions andgeneral provisions set forth in this article govern the constructionof this chapter.75502.  (a) "Judge" means a justice of the Supreme Court or of acourt of appeal, or a judge of a superior court, municipal court, orjustice court who is first elected or appointed to judicial office onor after November 9, 1994, and is not a member of the Judges'Retirement System pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section75000). A retired judge does not acquire status as a judge for thepurposes of this chapter by reason of designation as a temporaryjudge of, or assignment by the Chairperson of the Judicial Councilto, any of these courts. A former member of the Judges' Retirement System under Section75002 who withdrew his or her contributions upon leaving office, andwho takes judicial office on or after November 9, 1994, becomes amember of the system existing under Chapter 11 (commencing withSection 75000) and does not become a member of the Judges' RetirementSystem II. No person shall be a member of the Judges' RetirementSystem II who is or ever has been a member of the Judges' RetirementSystem pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 75000). (b) "System" means the Judges' Retirement System II established bythis chapter. (c) "Service" means the period of time a judge received a salaryand made contributions to the system by reason of holding office as ajudge of any one or more of the courts of this state specified insubdivision (a), computed in years and fractions of years. (d) "Final compensation" means the average monthly salary of ajudge during the 12 months immediately preceding his or herretirement from or otherwise leaving judicial office and as limitedby Section 75572. (e) "Benefit factor" means the percentage used in calculating ajudge's monthly retirement allowance under Section 75522. (f) "Contributions" means the accumulated deductions from thejudge's salary under Sections 75601 and 75602. References to paymentto a judge of his or her contributions or to the determination of ajudge's and spouse's shares in the contributions include both thecontributions and interest thereon at the rates determined by theBoard of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System. (g) "Salary" means the compensation received by a judge as theemolument of the office of judge, but does not include any additionalcompensation received by reason of designation as a temporary judgeor assignment by the Chairperson of the Judicial Council or theadditional compensation pursuant to Section 68203.1. (h) "Board" means the Board of Administration of the PublicEmployees' Retirement System. (i) "Fund" or "retirement fund" means the Judges' RetirementSystem II Fund established pursuant to Section 75600.75505.  (a) This chapter shall be administered and governed pursuantto the Public Employees' Retirement Law to the same extent and withthe same effect as if those provisions are contained in this chapter,except for those provisions that provide for the payment of anallowance or other benefit and except for those provisions thatconflict with any provision of this chapter. (b) All payments from the Judges' Retirement System II Fund shallbe made upon warrants drawn by the Controller upon demands by theBoard of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System.75506.  The board shall, annually, send each judge a memberstatement which shall include information regarding accrued servicecredit, accrued monetary credits, retirement eligibility dates, andother pertinent information.75506.5.  (a) Any judge may elect, by written election filed withthe board at any time prior to retirement, to make contributions, andreceive service credit for, all of the time he or she served as afull-time subordinate judicial officer, as defined in Section 71601,prior to becoming a judge, excluding any period of time for which thejudge is receiving, or is entitled to receive, a retirementallowance from any other public retirement system. (b) A judge electing to receive credit for service pursuant tothis section shall, at the time of filing his or her election, payinto the Judges' Retirement Fund II, a sum equal to the actuarialpresent value of the increase in benefits due to the additionalservice. The amount shall be determined by the board in accordancewith this section.75506.6.  (a) A judge may elect, in writing filed with the Judges'Retirement System II, to make contributions and receive servicecredit in this system for active service, performed prior to enteringthis system, of not less than one year in the Armed Forces of theUnited States or not less than one year in the Merchant Marine of theUnited States prior to January 1, 1950, excluding any period of thatactive service for which the judge is receiving, or is entitled toreceive, a retirement allowance from any other retirement systemsupported wholly or in part by public funds. The service credit forthat service shall be granted on the basis of one year of credit foreach year of credited service in this system, but may not exceed atotal of four years of service credit regardless of the number ofyears of either that service or subsequent judicial service. A judgeelecting to receive credit for that service shall have at least oneyear of judicial service credited on the date of the election or thedate of retirement. If the service described in this subdivisionterminated with a dishonorable discharge, service credit in thesystem may not be granted under this section. (b) For purposes of this section, a judge means a judge as definedunder Section 75502 or a judge who has retired under Section 75521or 75522. (c) The retirement allowance of a retired judge who elects toreceive service credit pursuant to this section shall be increasedonly with respect to the allowance payable on and after the date ofelection. (d) A judge who elects to receive credit for service pursuant tothis section shall contribute to the Judges' Retirement Fund II a sumequal to the actuarial present value of the increase in benefits dueto the additional service, as determined by the chief actuary andapproved by the board. (e) An election by a judge to receive credit for service underthis section shall be effective only if accompanied by a lump-sumpayment or an authorization for payment, other than a lump-sumpayment, in accordance with regulations adopted by the board.75506.7.  (a) A judge may receive service credit for the purposes ofretirement under Section 75522 or 75560, or for purposes ofcalculating survivor benefits under Section 75590, for the timeduring which he or she was absent from his or her position as a judgeby reason of service with the uniformed services, if the judgereturns to judicial office within six months of separation from aneligible period of service in the uniformed services, as prescribedin Chapter 43 (commencing with Section 4301) of Title 38 of theUnited States Code, and the judge elects and satisfies therequirements of subdivision (b). (b) In order to receive service credit under subdivision (a) ajudge shall contribute an amount equal to the member contributionsthat would have been made by the judge during the absence as requiredunder Sections 75061 and 75602. The judge's contributions shall bemade prior to the judge's retirement and shall be effective only ifaccompanied by a lump-sum payment of the contributions due for theperiod during which the judge was absent due to service with theuniformed services. The judge's payment of contributions shall notexceed the amount the judge would have been required to contributehad the judge not served in the uniformed services and remained injudicial office continuously throughout the eligible period ofservice in the uniformed services. (c) Upon satisfaction of the requirements of subdivisions (a) and(b), the judge shall be credited with the service that would haveaccrued had the judge remained continuously employed and notundertaken service in the uniformed services. (d) Upon satisfaction of the requirements of subdivisions (a) and(b), the judge shall receive the monetary credits that would haveaccrued under Section 75520 if the member had not served in theuniformed services and had remained in judicial office continuously. (e) The system shall comply with Chapter 43 (commencing withSection 4301) of Title 38 of the United States Code, as that chaptermay be amended from time to time. (f) For the purposes of this section: (1) "Uniformed services" means the Armed Forces, the Army NationalGuard and the Air National Guard when engaged in active duty fortraining, inactive duty training, or full-time National Guard duty,the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, and any othercategory of persons designated by the President in time of war ornational emergency. (2) "Service in the uniformed services" means the performance ofduty on a voluntary or involuntary basis in a uniformed service undercompetent authority and includes: active duty, active duty fortraining, initial active duty for training, inactive duty training,full-time National Guard, or a period for which a person is absentfrom a position of employment for the purpose of an examination todetermine the fitness of the employment for the purpose of performingfuneral honors duty as provided in Section 12503 of Title 10 orSection 115 of Title 32 of the United States Code.75506.8.  When a judge that satisfies the requirements of Section75506.7 makes the contributions required to receive service creditfor service with the uniformed services, the state shall contributean amount equal to the contributions that would have been made by thestate during the judge's absence. The state's contribution shall bebased upon the judge's compensation earnable and the contributionrates in effect at the commencement of the absence.75507.  (a) Any allowance payable to a retired judge or to asurviving spouse or to an eligible surviving child that has accruedand remained unpaid at the time of the death of the judge or thedeath of a surviving spouse or surviving child, or any unclaimedwarrant issued prior to the date of death and returned to the board,shall be paid pursuant to the following order: (1) The survivor entitled to an allowance payable by the board. (2) The beneficiary designated by the surviving spouse, eligiblesurviving child, or retired judge if there is no eligible survivor. (3) The estate of the deceased, if there is no one entitled topayment under paragraph (1) or (2). The payment to the estate shallbe paid to either the estate of the deceased or the duly authorizedrepresentative or representatives of the estate when this systemreceives a court order appointing an executor, administrator, orpersonal representative. (4) If the estate does not require probate and the deceased has atrust, the payment may, in the judgment of the board, be paid to thesuccessor trustee named in the trust. (5) If the estate does not require probate and the deceased doesnot have a trust, the payment may, in the judgment of the board, bepaid to the beneficiary or beneficiaries of the deceased named in avalid will. (b) If there is no qualifying beneficiary pursuant to paragraphs(1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (a), the payment shall be paidto the surviving next of kin of the deceased pursuant to the order ofdistribution specified in Section 21493.75508.  The surviving spouse or eligible surviving child of adeceased judge who is receiving a monthly allowance from the system,or a retired judge, if there is no spouse or eligible child, maydesignate a beneficiary to receive the pro rata allowance remainingpayable in the month of his or her death. The designation may bemade, changed, or revoked at any time, and shall be in writing andfiled with the system.