The bill amends the Judges Retirement Act of 1992, specifically section 506, to clarify and update the procedures for retirement allowance elections by members or vested former members. Key changes include the requirement for a written election to be filed with the retirement system before the effective date of retirement, and the specification that the designated beneficiary must be a spouse, sibling, parent, or child of the member. The bill also introduces new provisions regarding the payment of retirement allowances to beneficiaries of trusts established under specific federal laws, allowing payments to be directed to the trust under certain conditions.

Additionally, the bill modifies language related to the election of payment options, ensuring that if a designated beneficiary predeceases the retirant, the benefit will revert to a straight life retirement allowance. It also stipulates that if a retirant is divorced from their designated beneficiary, the election of the optional form of payment will be considered void, reverting the retirement allowance to a straight life allowance. Other changes include clarifications on the necessity of spousal consent for certain elections and the conditions under which a member can revoke their previous election of retirement options.

Statutes affected:
House Introduced Bill: 38.2506