Plain English Breakdown
The official text mentions 'related and technical changes' without detailing them, so those specific impacts are unknown.
AB-1844: Allowing Non-Spouse Beneficiaries in Judges' Retirement System II
This law allows judges retiring on or after January 1, 2027, to name a non-spouse beneficiary for certain optional retirement plans and removes the 20-year service requirement for death benefits.
What This Bill Does
- Allows judges who retire on or after January 1, 2027, to choose someone other than their spouse as a beneficiary under specific optional payment plans (Option 2 and Option 3).
- Extends survivor benefits that were previously available only to spouses to designated non-spouse beneficiaries.
- Removes the requirement that a judge must have at least 20 years of service for a surviving designated beneficiary to receive death benefits if the judge dies while still working.
- States that these two optional retirement payment plans will not cost employers extra money.
- Explains that if a non-spouse beneficiary gives up their benefit, the judge's monthly allowance increases starting the first day of the next month.
Who It Names or Affects
- Judges who are members of Judges' Retirement System II and retire on or after January 1, 2027.
- Non-spouse individuals designated by judges to receive retirement payments.
- Spouses whose community property rights must still be considered when a non-spouse is named as beneficiary.
Terms To Know
- Judges' Retirement System II
- The pension program for judges managed by the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System.
- Optional retirement payment plans
- Choices where a judge receives less money while alive so that someone else can receive payments after they die, specifically Option 2 (100%) and Option 3 (50%).
- Community property rights
- Legal rules about how assets earned during marriage are shared between spouses, which still apply even if a non-spouse is named as beneficiary.
Limits and Unknowns
- The law only applies to judges who retire on or after January 1, 2027.
- A judge cannot ignore their spouse's community property rights when naming a non-spouse beneficiary.
- The text does not specify the exact dollar amounts of the benefits.