2007 California Government Code Article 3.5. Payment Of Benefits

CA Codes (gov:75070-75074)

GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 75070-75074



75070.  In lieu of the retirement allowance for his life alone, a
judge may elect, or revoke or change a previous election prior to the
approval of the previous election, to have the actuarial equivalent
of his retirement allowance as of  the date of retirement applied to
a lesser retirement allowance, in accordance with one of the optional
settlements specified in Section 75071.
    That election, revocation, or change of election shall be made by
a writing filed with the Judges' Retirement System prior to the
making of the first payment on account of any retirement allowance.




75071.  (a) Optional settlement one consists of the right to have a
retirement allowance paid to the judge for life and if he or she dies
before receiving the amount of his or her accumulated contributions
at retirement, to have the balance at death paid to his or her
designated beneficiary or, if no beneficiary designation is in effect
on the date of death, to his or her estate.
   (b) (1) Optional settlement two consists of the right to have a
retirement allowance paid to him or her for life and thereafter to
his or her designated beneficiary for life.
   (2) If the judge's designated beneficiary predeceases the judge
and the judge elected this optional settlement to be effective on or
after January 1, 2002, the judge's allowance shall be adjusted
effective the first day of the month following the death of the
beneficiary to reflect the benefit that would have been paid had the
judge not elected an optional settlement.
   (3) If the marriage of a retired judge is dissolved or annulled or
if the retired judge and his or her beneficiary spouse are legally
separated and the judgment dividing their community property awards
the total interest in this system to the retired judge, and the
retired judge elected this optional settlement to be effective on or
after January 1, 2002, the retired judge's allowance shall be
adjusted effective the first day of the month following the filing of
the judgment with the board to reflect the benefit that would have
been paid had the judge not elected an optional settlement.
   (c) (1) Optional settlement three consists of the right to have a
retirement allowance paid him or her for life, and thereafter to have
one-half of his or her retirement allowance paid to his or her
designated beneficiary for life.
   (2) If the judge's designated beneficiary predeceases the judge
and the judge elected this optional settlement to be effective on or
after January 1, 2002, the judge's allowance shall be adjusted
effective the first day of the month following the death of the
beneficiary to reflect the benefit that would have been paid had the
judge not elected an optional settlement.
   (3) If the marriage of a retired judge is dissolved or annulled or
if the retired judge and his or her beneficiary spouse are legally
separated and the judgment dividing their community property awards
the total interest in this system to the retired judge, and the
retired judge elected this optional settlement to be effective on or
after January 1, 2002, the retired judge's allowance shall be
adjusted effective the first day of the month following the filing of
the judgment with the board to reflect the benefit that would have
been paid had the judge not elected an optional settlement.
   (d) Optional settlement four consists of other benefits that are
the actuarial equivalent of his or her retirement allowance, that he
or she may select subject to the approval of the Judges' Retirement
System.
   (e) When a judge elects, on or after January 1, 2003, to receive
benefits provided by paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) or paragraph
(2) of subdivision (c), and the judge and his or her optional
settlement beneficiary both die before receiving in annuity payments
the full amount of the judge's accumulated contributions at
retirement, the balance of the judge's accumulated contributions
shall be paid to the beneficiary designated by the judge. If the
judge had no designated beneficiary in effect on the date of death,
payment shall be made to the judge's estate.



75072.  If, during the life of a judge who has elected to receive an
optional settlement in lieu of a retirement allowance for his or her
life alone, or during the life of a beneficiary under an optional
settlement upon whose life contingency the optional settlement
elected depends, the compensation payable to the judge holding the
judicial office to which the retired judge was last appointed or
elected by the people prior to his or her retirement is increased,
the amounts payable to the retired judge or to his or her
beneficiary, or both, shall be recomputed and increased to be the
actuarial equivalent of the increased amount of the retirement
allowance to which the retired judge would be entitled if he or she
had not elected an optional settlement.  However, this section does
not give any retired judge or his or her beneficiary any claim
against the state for any increase in retirement allowance or other
benefit for time prior to the increase in the compensation of the
incumbent judge.



75073.  A judge who elects to receive optional settlement two or
three may concurrently and irrevocably elect to waive the provision
for an increase to his or her allowance, as specified in subdivisions
(b) and (c) of Section 75071, and shall, instead, have his or her
allowance based upon the waiver of this benefit.



75074.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a judge may, at
any time, including, but not limited to, at any time after reaching
retirement age, designate a beneficiary to receive the benefits as
may be payable to his or her beneficiary under this article, by a
writing filed with the board.
   (b) No designation may be made in derogation of the community
property share of any nonmember spouse when any benefit is derived,
in whole or in part, from community property contributions or service
credited during the period of marriage, unless the nonmember spouse
has previously obtained an alternative order for division pursuant to
Section 2610 of the Family Code.
   (c) The designation, subject to conditions imposed by board rule,
may be by class, in which case the members of the class at the time
of the judge's death shall be entitled as beneficiaries.  The
designation shall also be subject to the board's conclusive
determination, upon evidence satisfactory to it, of the existence,
identity, or other facts relating to entitlement of any person
designated as beneficiary, and payment made by this system in
reliance on any determination made in good faith, notwithstanding
that it may not have discovered a beneficiary otherwise entitled to
share in the benefit, shall constitute a complete discharge and
release of this system for further liability for the benefit.

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