Judicial Retirement


Membership

NMSA § 10-12B-4 requires that every judge or justice while in office shall become a member and shall be subject to the provisions of the Judicial Retirement Act.

Contributions

The Judicial Retirement Fund receives 10.50% from each judge/justice, 15% from the Administrative Office of the Courts, $25.00 from each civil docket fee paid in Metropolitan Court, $10.00 from each jury fee paid in Metropolitan Court, and $38.00 from each civil case docket fee paid in District Court.

Vesting

Vesting means that you are guaranteed a pension benefit when you meet the age and service requirements for normal retirement. The service credit used for vesting must be earned while serving as a Judge. Service credit earned with another PERA affiliated employer or the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board does not count toward the years required to vest with JRA, but may count toward your age and service credit requirements for normal retirement under the Reciprocity Act. For Judges/Justice who first took the bench prior to July 1, 2014, you are a vested member of the Judicial Retirement Plan when you have earned five (5) years of Judicial service credit. For Judges/Justices who first took the bench on or after July 1, 2014, you are a vested member of the Judicial Retirement Plan when you have earned eight (8) years of Judicial service credit. Once vested, you are eligible for non-duty disability retirement if you become disabled and are unable to work, and you may purchase certain types of service credit.

Consider Purchasing Service Credit

You are eligible to purchase certain types of service credit such as withdrawn, military and air time. Purchasing service can increase your monthly benefit and may allow you to retire earlier. If you participate in PERA's SmartSave deferred compensation plan or another qualified retirement plan you may be eligible to roll over funds tax-free. Please visit PERASmartSave.Voya.com to learn more.

Pre-retirement Beneficiary Options

Your beneficiary designation is important long before retirement. Member contributions are your money and will be paid to someone in the event of your death, either as a monthly survivor pension benefit or as a refund. All members should complete a Beneficiary Designation form when they are first hired.

You may designate only one supplemental needs trust, one person, or one organization as a refund beneficiary and only one supplemental needs trust or one person as a survivor beneficiary. The refund beneficiary and the survivor beneficiary can be the same person or supplemental needs trust or they may be different. If you are married, your spouse must give their consent if you choose a supplemental needs trust or a person other than your spouse to receive the benefit. In that instance, your spouse must sign a Beneficiary Spousal Consent form before a Notary Public.

The refund beneficiary designation is very important if you have not vested. If you die before you are vested and your death is not duty-related, your employee contributions plus interest are paid in a lump sum to your designated refund beneficiary. If you do not designate a refund beneficiary, your member contributions will be paid to your estate.

The survivor beneficiary designation becomes effective when you become vested or if you die from duty-related causes prior to becoming vested. Survivor pension amounts vary for non-duty-related and duty-related deaths.

Designations may be revoked at any time prior to retirement, subject to certain conditions. Every situation is different. Please contact PERA for additional information.

Retirement Eligibility

For an individual who became a member prior to July 1, 2005:

•Age 65 or older with 5 or more years of service credit; or
•Age 60 years or older and fifteen or more years of service credit.

For an individual who became a member after June 30, 2005, but on or before June 30, 2014:

•Age 65 or older with 5 or more years of service credit; or
•Age 55 years or older and sixteen or more years of service credit.

For an individual who became a member on or after July 1, 2014:

•Age 65 or older with 8 or more years of service credit; or
•Age 60 years or older and fifteen or more years of service credit.

Reciprocal Service

During your career you may have worked for an entity covered by the Public Employee's Retirement Act, NM Educational Retirement Board, or in a position covered under the Magistrate Retirement Act. Reciprocal service may be combined toward retirement eligibility, however each retirement plan is required to calculate pension benefits under their specific formulas/rules. Please let us know if you believe you have reciprocal service.

Post-retirement Beneficiary Options

Familiarize yourself with the form of payment options. When applying for retirement you must choose how you want to be paid. The payment option you choose will determine whether a beneficiary will continue to receive a monthly pension if you pass away and your monthly pension benefit will be reduced depending on your age and the age of your beneficiary. If you are retiring with reciprocal service credit, you may also be able to choose a different form of payment for the different retirement funds.

For a Judge/Justice who became a member prior to July 1, 2014, the form of payment is as follows:

  • A Judge’s/Justice’s surviving spouse or designated beneficiary receives a pension equal to 75% of the retired Judge’s/Justice’s pension for life, subject to Internal Revenue Code requirements for a non-spouse beneficiary more than 10 years younger than the retiring Judge/Justice. You may choose only one person to be your survivor beneficiary with this form of payment. If you name a beneficiary other than your spouse who is more than 10 years younger than you, the percentage paid to the beneficiary will be adjusted to meet Internal Revenue Code requirements.

For a Judge/Justice who became a member on or after July 1, 2014, the form of payment options are as follows:

  • Form of Payment A - Straight Life Option: provides a monthly benefit to you for your lifetime only. When you die, payments stop the first day of the month following your death.
  • Form of Payment B - 100% Joint Survivor Option: provides a monthly benefit to you for your lifetime. When you die, your beneficiary will receive this same amount for the rest of their life. Subject to Internal Revenue Code requirements for a non-spouse beneficiary more than 10 years younger than the retiring Judge/Justice
  • Form of Payment C - 50% Joint Survivor Option: Provides a monthly benefit to you for your lifetime. When you die, your beneficiary will receive half the amount for the rest of his or her life.
  • Form of Payment D - Temporary Joint Survivor Option (For retirees with unmarried minor children under the age of 25: provides a monthly benefit to you for your lifetime. When you die, the same total amount is shared by your eligible children until the last child reaches age 25.
Additional Resources

Additional resources to help you learn more about your Judicial Retirement Act benefits can be found below. As always, please feel to contact PERA if you have additional questions.