Section 65G. (a) Any justice of a department of the trial court who is retired from his office may notify the chief justice of the supreme judicial court in writing that he wishes his name to be placed upon the list of retired justices of the trial court of the commonwealth. Said chief justice may place the name of any such justice on the list of retired justices for the trial court of the commonwealth. With respect to those whose names have been placed on such list upon retirement, any retired justice or any surviving spouse of a retired justice shall be entitled to the same pension and all other benefits which he or his surviving spouse would have been entitled to receive if he had retired without his name having been placed on such list, notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, and a vacancy shall exist in the office theretofore occupied by such retired justice.

(b) A retired justice whose name has been placed on a list of retired justices shall be eligible, for a term of two years, to perform judicial duties only as provided in section fourteen of chapter two hundred and eleven B, provided that he likewise shall be eligible to perform judicial duties for succeeding two year terms upon request, with the reapproval of the chief justice of the supreme judicial court, for each succeeding term.

(c) If such retired justice no longer wishes to be eligible to perform judicial duties pursuant to section fourteen of said chapter two hundred eleven B, he may at any time after having his name placed upon a retired list resign his office.

(d) A retired justice eligible to perform judicial duties shall not engage in the practice of law directly or indirectly, and shall not hold any office which is incompatible with holding the office of a justice of the trial court of which he is on the retired list under the provisions of Article II of Chapter VI of Part the Second of the Constitution of the Commonwealth or of Article VIII of the Amendments thereto.

(e) Any justice who has been retired from any predecessor court to a department, or a division thereof, of the trial court, shall be eligible for service as hereinbefore provided to the same extent as if he had been retired from the trial court.