Bill seeks to raise mandatory retirement age for judges to 73

A bill moving through the state Senate could raise the mandatory retirement age for Virginia judges and, in the process, save the state some money by delaying payments for the judges' generous pensions.

The measure, which the Virginia Supreme Court supports, would allow judges to serve until they are 73. Judges now must retire at 70.

"Today's 60-somethings are like yesterday's 50-somethings," said Sen. John S. Edwards, D-Roanoke, the sponsor of SB206. "People are living longer and they're healthier."

Retired Virginia Beach Judge A. Joseph Canada Jr., who had to step down last year after turning 70, agreed.

"Those that are 70 and mentally alert have a lot of experiences that could be utilized for the public," he said. He suggested judges who turn 70 could be interviewed by the General Assembly to determine if they are fit to continue working.

Canada and others note that raising the retirement age would save the state's retirement system money. A study of Edwards' bill concluded it would save about $1.4 million starting next year, because if judges worked longer, they'd draw less retirement.

Circuit Court judges make about $158,000 a year. Even though the bill would allow judges to collect up to three extra years of salary, Canada said the bill will save money because allowing judges to work longer means the state can delay pension payouts and not have to pay the salary for a replacement judge.

Despite the predicted overall savings to the retirement system, the bill could help some judges increase their pension payouts by allowing them to accrue credit for three additional years worked.

The state's more than 800 current and retired judges enjoy one of the best retirement programs of all Virginia public workers. Judges get two and a half years of credit for every year they serve on the bench, the only such deal among Virginia public workers. For example, a judge who works 20 years gets a credit of 50 years applied to pension payout calculations.

State pension officials point out that most judges have already achieved their maximum pension payout by the time they reach 70. Judges are the only state workers to have their pensions capped at 78 percent of their final salaries.

The Judicial Retirement System is one of the state's most expensive pension programs per capita, costing $29 million per year in benefits spread out to 450 retired judges. That's an average retirement pay of about $65,000 for a retired judge, higher than the average payout for state workers, teachers and law enforcement officers.

Edwards contends that a generous pension program for judges is necessary to attract talented attorneys who could otherwise make more in private practice.

"You need to have something like that to encourage older, more experienced lawyers to consider being a judge," he said.

His bill has cleared the Senate Courts of Justice and Finance committees and could be voted on this week. Even though Edwards favors no mandatory retirement age for judges and has pushed for 75 in the past, he lowered the proposed age to 73 at the request of the state Supreme Court and to increase the bill's chances of passage in the House.

The bill is one of more than 30 this year that touch on aspects of the Virginia Retirement System.

Some legislation proposed this year could curtail some of the generosity of the state's pension program. One bill would require all newly hired public workers, including judges, to pay 5 percent of their salaries toward retirement benefits. Currently, most pay nothing. It would also lower a multiplier used in the pension calculation, resulting in a lower pension payout.

That bill has been assigned to the House Appropriations Compensation and Retirement Subcommittee. It is being backed by several influential lawmakers including Del. Lacey Putney, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Del. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk.

Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5122, aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com

Mike Saewitz, (757) 222-5207, mike.saewitz@pilotonline.com