(a) A justice or judge shall be retired on the date that the justice or judge reaches the age of 70. A justice or judge is eligible for retirement pay with five or more years of service at the time of retirement as a justice or judge.

(b) A justice or judge may be retired for incapacity as provided in this section. A justice or judge is eligible for retirement pay with two or more years of service at the time of retirement for incapacity. The effective date of retirement under this subsection is the first day of the month coinciding with or after the date that the governor files written notice with the commissioner of administration that a designated justice or judge was retired for incapacity. A duplicate copy of the notice shall be filed with the judicial council.

(c) A justice or judge who served for a period of five years may file with the governor a written application for retirement which contains a sworn statement of service and a sworn statement of the incapacity of the justice or judge to efficiently perform the judicial duties. When an application is filed, the governor shall appoint a board of three persons to inquire into the circumstances, and may, upon the board's recommendation, retire the justice or judge. The effective date of the retirement shall be as provided in (b) of this section.

(d) A justice or judge may voluntarily retire at any time and shall have a vested right to accrued retirement pay if the justice or judge has served five or more years. Retirement pay may not commence until the justice or judge has reached age 60; except that an actuarially equivalent retirement pay may be commenced after the justice or judge has reached age 55 or upon 20 years' service as a justice or judge. The provisions of (b) of this section are an exception to this rule. A justice or judge desiring to retire under this subsection shall file with the governor a notice of that desire, together with a sworn statement of the facts establishing eligibility to retire. The governor shall certify those facts to the commissioner of administration and declare, in writing, the eligibility or ineligibility for retirement of the justice or judge. If a justice or judge is eligible to receive retirement pay at the time of retirement, the retirement pay shall commence on the first day of the month coinciding with or after the date the written declaration of the governor is filed with the commissioner of administration. If a justice or judge is not eligible to receive retirement pay at the time of retirement, the retirement pay shall commence on the first day of the month the justice or judge reaches age 60 or the month the justice or judge becomes eligible for an actuarial equivalent if application was made for this option.

(e) [Repealed, § 16 ch 83 SLA 1967.]

(f) In the computation of service for retirement under this chapter, the time served by a justice or judge of any court is added to the time served, if any, on any other court. All service rendered by a justice or judge, including service as a magistrate or deputy magistrate, before July 1, 1967, shall be included in the computation.

(g) [Repealed, § 47 ch 59 SLA 2002.]