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| SPONSOR: | Rios | DATE TYPED: | 02/08/01 | HB | 236 | ||
| SHORT TITLE: | Magistrate Retirement Benefits | SB | |||||
| ANALYST: | Eaton | ||||||
| Subsequent
Years Impact |
Recurring
or Non-Rec |
Fund
Affected | ||
| FY01 | FY02 | |||
| NFI | ||||
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA)
Administrative Office of the Courts
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
This bill adds a subsection to the Magistrate Retirement Act that will allow a retired magistrate judge to become an elected official without suspension of pension benefits if he or she files an irrevocable exemption from membership from any state system within 30 days of taking office.
Significant Issues
The policy issue is whether retired magistrate judges should continue to receive their pension benefits in addition to any salary they receive as an elected official. Currently, the pension benefits for magistrates are suspended upon subsequent employment by any state or educational retirement system. "State system" is defined in the Magistrate Retirement Act as the Public Employees Retirement Act, the Magistrate Retirement Act and the Judicial Retirement Act. NMSA 1978, §10-12C-2(Q).
PERA retirees have a provision (NMSA 1978, §10-11-8(F)), which allows state retirees to continue to receive their pension and a salary as an elected official, if they irrevocably opt out of other state retirement systems within 30 days of taking office. "State system" does not include the Educational Retirement Board. If this provision for magistrate judges passes, only the retirees under the Judicial Retirement Act will have to suspend their pension upon election to a "state system" position.
.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
Minimal. PERA will have to track the irrevocable exemptions.
JBE/lrs