(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 the optional settlement specified in subdivision (b) of Section 75071 and 75073, 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).
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 199, Sec. 45. (AB 2404) Effective January 1, 2017.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018