The bill amends Section 8-3-11 of the General Laws concerning allowances to the surviving spouses, domestic partners, or minor children of deceased justices of the Supreme, Superior, and Family Courts. It establishes that surviving spouses or domestic partners of justices who die after retirement or during active service while eligible for retirement will receive a percentage of the justice's salary or retirement pay based on their years of service. Specifically, those who served fifteen years or more will receive half of the annual payment, while those with seven years or more will receive one-third, and those with less than seven years will receive one-fourth. Additionally, the bill introduces provisions for justices engaged as judges after January 1, 2009, detailing how their retirement pay can be reduced and how benefits can be designated to multiple beneficiaries.

Furthermore, the bill adds new language to provide similar benefits for magistrates of the Superior Court, Family Court, District Court, or Traffic Tribunal who die during active service while eligible for retirement under the Employees' Retirement System of Rhode Island (ERSRI). Their surviving spouses or domestic partners will receive a survivor benefit equivalent to the "ERSRI option #1 – 100% survivor option" for their lifetime, as long as they remain unmarried or not in a domestic partnership. The date of retirement for the purposes of calculating this benefit will be the date of the magistrate's death, and the benefits will be administered through ERSRI. This act will take effect upon passage.

Statutes affected:
1153: 8-3-11