ORS 238.535: Service retirement allowance.

(1) Prior to attaining 60 years of age, all judge members shall elect in writing to retire under either paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection. The election shall be irrevocable after the judge member attains 60 years of age. Any judge member who fails to make the election provided for in this subsection prior to attaining 60 years of age shall be retired under the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection. (a) Upon retiring from service as a judge at the age of 65 years or thereafter, a judge member who has made contributions to the Public Employees Retirement Fund during each of five calendar years shall receive as a service retirement allowance, payable monthly, a life pension (nonrefund) provided by the contributions of the judge member and the state in an annual amount equal to 2.8125 percent of final average annual salary multiplied by the number of years of service as a judge not exceeding 16 years of service as a judge and 1.67 percent of final average salary multiplied by the number of years of service as a judge exceeding 16 years of service as a judge, but the annual amount shall not exceed 65 percent of final average salary. (b) Upon retiring from service as a judge at the age of 60 years or thereafter, a judge member who has made contributions to the Public Employees Retirement Fund during each of five calendar years shall receive as a service retirement allowance, payable monthly, a life pension (nonrefund) provided by the contributions of the judge member and the state in an annual amount equal to 3.75 percent of final average salary multiplied by the number of years of service as a judge not exceeding 16 years of service as a judge and two percent of final average salary multiplied by the number of years of service as a judge exceeding 16 years of service as a judge, but the annual amount shall not exceed 75 percent of final average salary. (c) Any judge member electing to retire under paragraph (b) of this subsection shall serve as a pro tem judge, without compensation, for 35 days per year for a period of five years. A judge who serves more than 35 days per year may carry over the additional days to fulfill the pro tem service obligation in future years. The five-year period shall commence on the judge member’s date of retirement or the date on which the judge member commences pro tem service under ORS 238.545 (4), whichever is earlier. Judge members may be reimbursed for expenses incurred in providing pro tem services under this paragraph. Upon certification from the Chief Justice that any judge member who retired under paragraph (b) of this subsection has failed to perform the pro tem services required under this paragraph, and has not been relieved of the obligations to perform those services in the manner provided by this paragraph, the Public Employees Retirement Board shall recalculate the service retirement allowance of the noncomplying judge member as though the judge member elected to retire under paragraph (a) of this subsection, and the noncomplying judge member shall receive only that recalculated amount thereafter. A judge may be relieved of the pro tem service obligation imposed by this paragraph if the judge fails for good cause to complete the obligation. A retired judge member who is relieved of the obligation to serve as a pro tem judge shall continue to receive the retirement allowance provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection. (d) For the purpose of paragraph (c) of this subsection: (A) “Good cause” includes, but is not limited to: (i) Physical or mental incapacitation of a judge that prevents the judge from discharging the duties of judicial office; (ii) Failure of the appointing authority to assign a judge to the requisite amount of pro tem service, whether because of insufficient need for pro tem judges, a determination by the appointing authority that the skills of a judge do not match the needs of the courts, clerical mistake, or otherwise; or (iii) Death of a judge. (B) “Good cause” does not include: (i) A judge’s refusal, without good cause, to accept pro tem assignments sufficient to meet the required amount; or (ii) A judge’s affirmative voluntary act that makes the judge unqualified to serve as a judge of this state including, but not limited to, failure to maintain active licensure by the Oregon State Bar, acceptance of a position in another branch of state government, or acceptance of a position in the Government of the United States or of another state or nation. (e) The Chief Justice may make rules for the implementation of this subsection. (2) As used in subsection (1) of this section, “final average salary” means whichever of the following is greater: (a) The average salary per calendar year paid to a judge member in three of the calendar years of service as a judge before the judge member retires, in which three years the judge member was paid the highest salary. (b) One-third of the total salary paid to a judge member in the last 36 calendar months of service as a judge before the judge member retires. (3) As used in subsection (1) of this section, “number of years of service” means the number of full years plus any remaining fraction of a year. In determining a remaining fraction, a full month shall be considered as one-twelfth of a year and a major fraction of a month shall be considered as a full month. (4) For a judge who elects to become a judge member as provided in ORS 237.215 (3) (1989 Edition), the service retirement allowance under subsection (1) of this section on retirement at the age of 70 years and either 12 years of service or two full six-year terms as a judge shall be at least the equivalent of the retirement pay the judge would have received had the judge retired under ORS 1.314 to 1.390 (1989 Edition). (5) A judge member who has made contributions to the Public Employees Retirement Fund during each of five calendar years and who attains the age of 60 years shall be retired upon written application by the judge member to the board on a reduced service retirement allowance that shall be the actuarial equivalent of the service retirement allowance provided for in subsection (1)(a) of this section. (6) For the purposes of this section, a judge who elects to become a judge member as provided in ORS 237.215 (3) (1989 Edition) shall be considered to have made contributions to the Public Employees Retirement Fund during one calendar year for each calendar year during which the judge made contributions to the Judges’ Retirement Fund. (7)(a) Notwithstanding subsection (1)(a) of this section, the maximum percentage used in calculating the annual amount of the life pension (nonrefund) for a judge who is a judge member on September 27, 1987, or who elected to become a judge member in the manner provided by ORS 237.215 (3)(b) or (4)(b) (1989 Edition), shall be the percentage specified by paragraph (b) of this subsection if either: (A) On September 27, 1987, the judge had more than 28 years of service that were creditable either under the system; or (B) On September 27, 1987, the judge had more than 28 years of service that were creditable under the Judges’ Retirement Fund established pursuant to ORS 1.314 to 1.390 (1989 Edition) and the judge became a member of the system under the provisions of ORS 237.215 (3)(b) (1989 Edition). (b) The maximum percentage used in calculating the annual amount of the life pension (nonrefund) of a judge member who meets the requirements of paragraph (a) of this subsection shall not exceed 45 percent plus 1.67 percent multiplied by the number of years of service as a judge that exceed 16 years and that were served on or before September 27, 1987. (c) In computing the annual amount of the life pension of a judge who meets the requirements of paragraph (a) of this subsection, the board shall use the percentage specified by paragraph (b) of this subsection and the final average salary of the judge computed on the date of retirement, not the final average salary of the judge computed as of September 27, 1987. In making the computation under this subsection, the board shall use the definition of “final average salary” provided by ORS 238.535 as amended by section 2, chapter 625, Oregon Laws 1987. [Formerly 237.220; 1997 c.801 §19; 1999 c.317 §21; 2005 c.22 §179; 2025 c.32 §102]