TITLE 47 RETIREMENT AND PENSIONS

Section 23. Georgia Judicial Retirement System, 47-23-1 through 47-23-124.

ARTICLE 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

47-23-1. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the term:

1. "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all amounts deducted from the earnable compensation of a member or paid by the member to establish or reestablish credit for service, which amounts are credited to his or her individual account together with regular interest thereon. Such term shall also include the amount of employee contributions paid by the employer on behalf of members, together with regular interest thereon, excluding employee contributions paid by the employer or the employee for group term life insurance coverage.
2. "Average earnable monthly compensation" means the average earnable monthly compensation of a member during the 24 consecutive months of creditable service producing the highest such average.
3. "Beneficiary" means any person other than a retired member of a retirement system who is receiving a benefit from that retirement system.
4. "Board" means the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Judicial Retirement System.
5. "County pension or retirement fund" means only those certain pension and retirement funds provided for by local Acts applicable to certain named counties.
6. "Covered position" means an employment position eligible for membership under this chapter.
7. "Creditable service" means prior service and membership service for which credit is allowable under this chapter, but in no case shall more than one year of service be creditable for all service in one calendar year, nor shall it include any service which has been or may be credited to a member by any other public retirement system of this state.
8. "District attorney" means any district attorney holding office on July 1, 1998, and any district attorney taking office on or after July 1, 1998, except that the term district attorney shall not include any district attorney:
   1. Who was serving as a district attorney on June 30, 1998, and who was not a member of the District Attorneys' Retirement System; or
   2. Who is a member of any other publicly supported retirement or pension system or fund created by any law of this state, if the retirement or pension benefits under such other publicly supported retirement or pension system or fund are based wholly or partially on the compensation payable to the district attorney from state funds.
9. "District Attorneys' Retirement System" means that retirement system created by Chapter 13 of this title as such chapter existed prior to July 1, 1998.
10. "Earnable monthly compensation" means the full rate of regular monthly compensation payable to a member employee for his or her full working time, excluding any local supplements.
11. "Fund" means the Georgia Judicial Retirement System Fund provided for by Code Section 47-23-22. The fund shall include, but is not limited to, a pension accumulation fund in which the benefits described in Article 6 of this chapter will be held and an employee contribution accumulation fund in which the contributions described in Article 5 of this chapter will be held.
12. "Judge, solicitor, or solicitor-general of a state court" means a person elected or appointed to such office for a specific term. Such term shall not include any person acting as a judge or solicitor of a state court on a temporary basis or serving as judge or solicitor-general pro tempore of a state court.
13. "Juvenile court judge" means a juvenile court judge now or hereafter appointed or otherwise holding office pursuant to Code Section 15-11-50 relative to the creation of juvenile courts, except judges of the superior courts sitting as juvenile court judges and juvenile court judges who are members of local retirement or pension systems created by local law.
14. "Predecessor retirement system" means the District Attorneys' Retirement System, the Superior Court Judges Retirement System, and the Trial Judges and Solicitors Retirement Fund, collectively or individually.
15. "Regular interest" means interest at such rate as shall be determined by the board of trustees, which interest shall be compounded annually.
16. "Retirement system" means the Georgia Judicial Retirement System.
17. "State court" means any court created pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 7 of Title 15 or any court continued as a state court by Article VI, Section X of the Constitution of the State of Georgia; provided, however, that such term shall include the State Court of Fulton County subject to the provisions of Code Section 47-23-50.
18. "Superior Court Judges Retirement System" means that retirement system created by Chapter 9 of this title as such chapter existed prior to July 1, 1998.
19. "Trial Judges and Solicitors Retirement Fund" means that retirement fund created by Chapter 10 of this title as such chapter existed prior to July 1, 1998.

(Code 1981, §47-23-1, enacted by Ga. L. 1998, p. 513, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 20, § 25; Ga. L. 2004, p. 573, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 535, § 30/HB 460; Ga. L. 2009, p. 947, § 31/HB 202; Ga. L. 2014, p. 393, § 1/SB 339.)

The 2009 amendment, effective May 11, 2009, added paragraph (1); and redesignated former paragraphs (1) through (18) as present paragraphs (2) through (19), respectively.

The 2014 amendment, effective April 21, 2014, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct this title, substituted "Code Section 15-11-50" for "Code Section 15-11-18" near the middle of paragraph (13).