(a) A judge who qualifies, as prescribed in Section 75075, to receive the benefits accorded by this article shall receive a retirement allowance equal to 65 percent of the salary payable, at the time payment of the allowance falls due, to the judge holding the judicial office to which he or she was last elected or appointed; except that if upon retirement a judge has received credit for 20 or more years of service rendered prior to the expiration of the time within which the judge is eligible to elect to receive the benefits accorded by this article and for which he or she has contributed to the Judges’ Retirement Fund his or her retirement allowance shall equal 75 percent of that salary.
(b) Any judge retiring after July 7, 1960, who has or shall become entitled to credit for service as a judge of a court of record prior to the inclusion of the judges of those courts, or of all of those courts, under the Judges’ Retirement Law, or as a “judge of an excluded court” as defined by Section 75029, or as a “constitutional officer” or “public legal officer” as defined by Section 75030.5, without having contributed therefor to the Judges’ Retirement Fund, may at any time prior to retirement contribute for all or any part of that service by paying into the fund a sum of money computed by applying to the rate of salary which he or she actually received during his or her first year of service as a judge the rate of deduction first applicable to his or her salary as a judge after the inclusion of the judges of his or her court under the Judges’ Retirement Law, multiplied by the period of service for which contributions are elected to be made, plus interest at 3 percent a year to the date of his or her payment upon the amounts of the deductions and from the respective dates they would have been made if he or she had been the holder of a judicial office subject to the provisions of the Judges’ Retirement Law at the time of the rendition of the services for which he or she has received or hereafter receives that credit.
The amount of any contribution authorized by this subdivision and interest thereon shall be determined by the Judges’ Retirement System in accordance with this subdivision.
(c) If the judge retires pursuant to Section 75025, the allowance is payable during the remainder of his or her life; if pursuant to Section 75060, it is payable as provided in Section 75060.6.
(Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 212, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 1999.)