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HomeGovernment CodeCh. 11Art. 2§ 75026 Judges Retirement Eligibility Requirements

§ 75026 Judges Retirement Eligibility Requirements

Government Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 75026 Judges Retirement Eligibility Requirements

Key Takeaways

  • •Judges must work and pay into the retirement fund for at least 10 years to retire normally.
  • •If a judge hasn’t paid for 10 years, they can still retire if they pay a big lump sum before retiring.
  • •The lump sum is calculated based on their last salary and the current retirement contribution rates.
  • •The 10-year count doesn’t include time they already paid into the fund or other special cases.

Example

A judge worked for 8 years but wants to retire now. They didn’t pay into the retirement fund for 10 years, so they need to pay extra to retire.

The judge must pay a lump sum equal to what they would have paid in the last 10 years of work, using their last salary and current contribution rates.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 75026 Judges Retirement Eligibility Requirements

Except as provided in Section 75029, no judge shall be eligible to retire under Section 75025 if he or she has not received a salary from which contributions for the Judges’ Retirement Fund have been deducted for a period or periods aggregating at least 10 years unless, prior to the effective date of his or her retirement, he or she has paid into the Judges’ Retirement Fund a sum equal to the contributions which would have been deducted from his or her salary during the period of 10 years immediately preceding the effective date of his or her retirement if he or she had received a salary subject to deduction of contributions for the Judges’ Retirement Fund during all of that period, excluding any time within the 10-year period during which contributions for the Judges’ Retirement Fund were actually deducted from his or her salary, any time in that period in respect to which he or she has made payment under Section 75029, and any time in that period which is included in the computation of his or her service under Section 75031. The sum payable shall be computed by applying the rate or rates of deduction applicable to judges’ salaries during that time to the salary which the judge last received as the incumbent of a judicial office to which he or she was elected by the people. (Amended by Stats. 1989, Ch. 1417, Sec. 19.8.)

Last verified: January 22, 2026

Key Terms

retirementsalarydeductioncontributioncomputation

Related Statutes

  • § 75029 Excluded Court Service Credit
  • § 75028.2 Senior Judge Retirement Payments
  • § 75030.10 Judicial Officer Retirement Credits
  • § 75030.5 Judge Retirement Service Credit
  • § 75032 Retired Judge Lifetime Allowance

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Government Code. Section 75026.
View Official Source