2023 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 51 - Courts
Chapter 872 - Judges
Section 51-50. - Retirement at age seventy or for disability.

(a) Each judge or administrative law judge who first commenced service as a judge or an administrative law judge prior to January 1, 1981, and who attains the age of seventy while serving in his or her respective office or who is retired because of disability, shall receive the following retirement salary:

(1) A retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall receive, annually, two-thirds of the salary for the office of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court;

(2) A retired Chief Court Administrator who was a judge shall receive, annually, two-thirds of the salary for the office of Chief Court Administrator;

(3) A retired associate judge of the Supreme Court shall receive, annually, two-thirds of the salary for the office of associate judge of the Supreme Court;

(4) A retired Chief Judge of the Appellate Court shall receive, annually, two-thirds of the salary for the office of Chief Judge of the Appellate Court;

(5) A retired judge of the Appellate Court shall receive, annually, two-thirds of the salary for the office of judge of the Appellate Court;

(6) A retired Deputy Chief Court Administrator who was a judge shall receive, annually, two-thirds of the salary for the office of Deputy Chief Court Administrator;

(7) A retired judge of the Superior Court shall receive, annually, two-thirds of the salary for the office of judge of the Superior Court;

(8) A retired judge of the Court of Common Pleas, a retired judge of the Circuit Court or a retired judge of the Juvenile Court, shall receive, annually, two-thirds of the salary for the office of judge of the Superior Court;

(9) A retired administrative law judge shall receive, annually, two-thirds of the salary of an administrative law judge.

(b) (1) Each judge, family support magistrate or administrative law judge who first commences service as a judge, a family support magistrate or an administrative law judge on or after January 1, 1981, and prior to July 1, 2014, and who attains the age of seventy while serving in his or her respective office or who is retired because of disability shall receive as retirement, annually, two-thirds of the salary the judge, family support magistrate or administrative law judge was receiving at the time of his or her retirement.

(2) Each judge, family support magistrate or administrative law judge who first commences service as a judge, a family support magistrate or an administrative law judge on or after July 1, 2014, and who attains the age of seventy while serving in his or her respective office or who is retired because of disability shall receive as retirement, annually, two-thirds of the salary the judge, family support magistrate or administrative law judge was receiving at the time of his or her retirement, except that if a judge, a family support magistrate or an administrative law judge has fewer than ten years of state service credit under the provisions of chapter 66 at the time of his or her retirement under this subdivision, his or her retirement salary shall be a reduced amount determined as follows: (A) Two-thirds of the salary the judge, family support magistrate or administrative law judge was receiving at the time of his or her retirement, multiplied by (B) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of years of his or her completed state service, not to exceed ten, and the denominator of which is ten. In no event shall any judge receive more than one pension benefit as a result of his or her employment with the state.

(1949 Rev., S. 3597; 1955, S. 1967d; 1959, P.A. 28, S. 90; 531, S. 21; February, 1965, P.A. 331, S. 47; 1967, P.A. 621, S. 3; 1971, P.A. 639, S. 4; P.A. 74-183, S. 31, 291; 74-309, S. 1, 17; P.A. 76-436, S. 10a, 63, 681; P.A. 77-576, S. 31, 65; P.A. 80-337, S. 2, 13; P.A. 82-248, S. 26; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-35, S. 2, 9; P.A. 84-399, S. 4, 17; P.A. 85-517, S. 2, 5; P.A. 87-198, S. 2, 6; P.A. 92-226, S. 11, 28; P.A. 14-217, S. 252; P.A. 21-18, S. 1.)

History: 1959 acts included judges of circuit and juvenile courts; 1965 act provided that section applies only to judge first appointed prior to June 8, 1965; 1967 act deleted 1965 provision and specified applicability of section to judges who reach age of 70 while serving as judge and judges who retire because of disability; 1971 act added provision re compensation commissioners and applied section as a whole to such commissioners; P.A. 74-183 made no change; P.A. 74-309 clarified basis for retirement compensation, substituting “salary of the judicial office held by him at the time of his retirement” for “salary of a judge of the court of which he was a member”; P.A. 76-436 changed basis for retirement compensation, adding provisions specifically applicable to chief court administrator, to associate judges of supreme court or superior court judges and to judges of common pleas, juvenile or circuit courts, deleting former provision re basis for retirement computation as amended by P.A. 74-309, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 77-576 amended section to add provisions re increases in retirement compensation, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 80-337 designated former provisions as Subsecs. (a) and (c), specifying in Subsec. (a) that provisions apply to judges and compensation commissioners who began serving before January 1, 1981, and deleting provision re retirement salary and increments for retired chief judge of superior court, and added provisions designated as Subsecs. (b) and (d); P.A. 82-248 restated provisions of section and divided Subsec (a) into subdivisions; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-35 added new Subdiv. in Subsec. (a) re retirement salary of retired judge of the appellate court; P.A. 84-399 amended Subsec. (a) by adding “for the office of” and deleting references to retirement benefits based on salary step levels, and deleted Subsec. (c) re definition of “salary”; P.A. 85-517 added disability retirement provisions for a retired chief presiding judge of the appellate court and a retired deputy chief court administrator who was a judge; P.A. 87-198 deleted “presiding” as adjective modifying “judge”; P.A. 92-226 extended provisions of Subsec. (b) to include family support magistrates; P.A. 14-217 amended Subsec. (b) by designating existing provisions as Subdiv. (1) and adding “and prior to July 1, 2014,” therein and by adding Subdiv. (2) re pension amount for judge, family support magistrate or compensation commissioner who commences service on or after July 1, 2014, and attains age 70 while serving, effective June 13, 2014; pursuant to P.A. 21-18, “compensation commissioner” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “administrative law judge” throughout and conforming changes made, effective October 1, 2021.

See Sec. 31-283e re administrative law judges' right to elect benefits under this section.

Cited. 147 C. 656.

Cited. 7 CA 136.