Published: 2015-07-09
Key Benefits:
(a) Upon the legal separation or dissolution of marriage of a member, the court shall include in the judgment or a court order the date on which the parties separated.
(b) If the court orders the division of the community property interest in the system pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 2610 of the Family Code, the accumulated contributions and service credit attributable to periods of service during the marriage shall be divided into two separate and distinct accounts in the name of the member and nonmember, respectively. Any service credit or accumulated contributions which are not explicitly awarded by the judgment or court order shall be deemed the exclusive property of the member.
(c) Upon receipt of the court order separating the account of the member and the nonmember pursuant to this section, the board shall determine the rights of the nonmember, taking into consideration the court order and the account of the member. These rights may include the following:
(1) The right to a retirement allowance.
(2) The right to a refund of accumulated retirement contributions.
(3) The right to redeposit accumulated contributions which are eligible for redeposit by the member under Section 75028.5.
(4) The right to purchase service credit which is eligible for purchase by the member under Sections 75029 to 75030.5.
(5) The right to designate a beneficiary to receive his or her accumulated contributions payable where death occurs prior to retirement.
(6) The right to designate a beneficiary for any unpaid allowance payable at the time of the nonmember’s death.
(d) In the capacity of nonmember, the nonmember shall not be entitled to any disability retirement allowance.
(Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 932, Sec. 36. Effective January 1, 1999.)
“Nonmember,” as used in this article, means the spouse or former spouse of a member, who as a result of petitioning the court for the division of community property, has been awarded a distinct and separate account reflecting specific credited service and accumulated contributions.
(Added by Stats. 1989, Ch. 1379, Sec. 2. Applicable from June 1, 1988, by Sec. 7 of Ch. 1379.)
(a) The nonmember who is awarded a separate account shall have the right to a refund of accumulated retirement contributions in the separate account of the nonmember.
(b) The nonmember shall file an application on a form provided by the system to obtain the refund.
(c) The refund is effective when the system deposits in the United States mail an initial warrant drawn in favor of the nonmember and addressed to the latest address for the nonmember on file in the system.
(d) The nonmember is deemed to have permanently waived all rights in the system and all rights to any future retirement benefits pertaining to the service credit, accumulated contributions, or both, when the refund becomes effective.
(e) The nonmember may not cancel a refund once the refund has become effective.
(f) The nonmember shall have no right to elect to redeposit the refunded accumulated contributions from the nonmember’s account after the refund is effective, and shall have no right to redeposit under Section 75028.5, or to purchase service credit under Section 75029 or Section 75030.5.
(g) If at the time the parties separate, the member does not have the necessary minimum credited service to retire, the nonmember shall receive a refund of the accumulated contributions placed in the nonmember’s account. “Minimum credited service” means at least five years of service credit under the Judges’ Retirement System.
(Added by Stats. 1989, Ch. 1379, Sec. 2. Applicable from June 1, 1988, by Sec. 7 of Ch. 1379.)
If the nonmember withdraws accumulated contributions in accordance with Section 75052, the member may redeposit those contributions pursuant to this part.
(Added by Stats. 1991, Ch. 892, Sec. 10. Effective October 14, 1991.)
(a) The nonmember who is awarded a separate account may redeposit accumulated contributions previously refunded to the member in accordance with the determination of the court required by Section 75050.
(b) The nonmember may redeposit only those accumulated contributions which were previously refunded to the member and which the court has determined to be the community property interest of the nonmember in the accumulated retirement contributions.
(c) If the nonmember elects to redeposit, he or she shall repay the accumulated contributions pursuant to Section 75028.5.
(d) An election to redeposit shall be considered an election to repay all accumulated contributions previously refunded that the nonmember is entitled to redeposit.
(e) The right of the nonmember spouse to redeposit is subject to the regulations of the Board of Administration of the Public Employees’ Retirement System which administers the Judges’ Retirement System.
(f) The member has no right to redeposit the share of the nonmember in the previously refunded accumulated contributions whether or not the nonmember elects to redeposit. However, any right to redeposit previously refunded accumulated contributions not explicitly awarded to the nonmember by the judgment or court order shall be deemed the exclusive property of the member.
(g) If the nonmember elected to redeposit upon retirement and has subsequently died, prior to completing the redeposit, the board shall file a claim against the estate of the decedent to recover benefit payments which exceeded those for which payment was made.
(Added by Stats. 1989, Ch. 1379, Sec. 2. Applicable from June 1, 1988, by Sec. 7 of Ch. 1379.)
(a) The nonmember shall have the right to purchase service credit pursuant to the determination of the court required by Section 75050.
(b) The nonmember may purchase only that service credit which the court, pursuant to Section 75050 has determined to be the community property interest of the nonmember spouse.
(c) If the nonmember elects to purchase service credit, he or she shall pay, prior to retirement the contributions and interest required.
(d) The nonmember shall have no right to purchase service credit after the effective date of a refund of the accumulated contributions in the separate account of the nonmember.
(e) The member has no right to purchase the community property interest of the nonmember in the service credit whether or not the nonmember elects to purchase the service credit. However, any service credit eligible for purchase that is not explicity awarded to the nonmember by the judgment or court order shall be deemed the exclusive property of the member.
(f) If the nonmember elected to purchase service credit upon retirement and has subsequently died, prior to completing the purchase, the board shall file a claim against the estate of the deceased to recover benefit payments which exceeded those for which payment was made.
(Added by Stats. 1989, Ch. 1379, Sec. 2. Applicable from June 1, 1988, by Sec. 7 of Ch. 1379.)
A nonmember shall be retired upon his or her written application to the board if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) The nonmember has attained the age of 50.
(b) On the date the parties separated, the member had at least five years’ credited service, as defined by Section 75004.
(c) On the date of application of the nonmember, the member is eligible to retire and receive an allowance as provided in Section 75025, 75032, 75033, or 75033.5.
(Amended by Stats. 1992, Ch. 176, Sec. 5. Effective July 13, 1992. Applicable from June 1, 1988, by Sec. 13 of Ch. 176.)
Retirement shall be effective and the retirement allowance shall begin to accrue as of the date designated in the nonmember’s application as the effective date of retirement, or the day following the date of the court order dividing the community property of the member and nonmember, if later. In no event shall the retirement become effective or the retirement allowance begin to accrue earlier than the first day of the month in which the nonmember’s application is received at an office of the board or by an employee of the system designated by the board, or, if the nonmember has been incompetent to act on his or her own behalf continuously from the date of dissolution or legal separation, one year prior to the month in which an application by the guardian of his or her estate is so received. An application for retirement may only be filed by or for a nonmember who is living on the date the application is actually received by this system.
(Added by Stats. 1989, Ch. 1379, Sec. 2. Applicable from June 1, 1988, by Sec. 7 of Ch. 1379.)
For a nonmember, the retirement allowance shall be based on the salary payable, at the time payment of the allowance falls due, to the judge holding the judicial office to which the member judge was last appointed or elected, or from which the member is eligible to retire.
(Amended by Stats. 1992, Ch. 176, Sec. 6. Effective July 13, 1992. Applicable from June 1, 1988, by Sec. 13 of Ch. 176.)
(a) A nonmember shall be entitled to a retirement allowance based on service accrued by the judge during their years of marriage and in accordance with the community property settlement. The retirement allowance percentage to the nonmember shall be calculated based upon the applicable percentages available to the judge at the time he or she becomes eligible to retire and to receive an allowance, multiplied by the number of years and fraction of years of service specified in the court order, not to exceed 20 years.
(b) If the nonmember chooses to retire before attaining age 60, his or her percent of salary shall be reduced by an additional 2 percent for each year by which the nonmember’s age at the time of retirement is below age 60.
(Repealed and added by Stats. 1992, Ch. 176, Sec. 8. Effective July 13, 1992.)
(a) Upon the legal separation or dissolution of marriage of a retired member, the court shall include in a judgment or court order the date on which the parties separated.
(b) If the court orders the division of the community property interest in the system pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 2610 of the Family Code, the retirement allowance payable to the member attributable to periods of service during the marriage shall be irrevocably divided into two separate and distinct payments in the names of the member and nonmember former spouse, respectively. Benefits under this section shall be based on the actuarial equivalent of the member’s retirement allowance as of the effective date of the order dividing the benefit. The share of the actuarially reduced monthly allowance payable to the former spouse pursuant to that division shall be a lifetime benefit, and the former spouse shall have the right to designate a beneficiary for any unpaid allowance payable at the time of his or her death.
(c) Any retirement allowance not explicitly awarded by the judgment or court order shall be deemed the exclusive property of the member.
(d) Any survivor benefits payable to any eligible surviving spouse of a retired member whose allowance was reduced under this section shall be based solely on the reduced allowance.
(Added by Stats. 2000, Ch. 988, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2001.)
(a) A former spouse of a judge retired or deceased as of January 1, 2001, shall be eligible for the benefits provided by this section if the community property interest in the system was divided by court order pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 2610 of the Family Code, the former spouse retained an interest in the system, and the parties did not divide the member’s account pursuant to Section 75050. The monthly allowance payable pursuant to that division to the former spouse shall be a lifetime benefit and the former spouse shall have the right to designate a beneficiary for any unpaid allowance payable at the time of his or her death.
(b) The section shall apply retroactively to establish eligibility for a former spouse to the benefits provided by this section, but any payment made to the former spouse shall be prospective and shall commence no earlier than (1) the first day of the month in which the application was received by the system in those cases where the member is deceased, or (2) the first day of the month in which a valid court order is received in cases where the retired judge is still living.
(c) The board has no duty to locate or notify the members or former spouses who may be eligible to apply for the benefits under this section.
(d) The benefits provided by this section shall be applicable to persons otherwise eligible who notify the system in writing prior to January 1, 2002.
(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 159, Sec. 123. Effective January 1, 2002.)
