As used in the Judicial Retirement Act:

A. "association" means the public employees retirement association provided for in the Public Employees Retirement Act [Chapter 10, Article 11 NMSA 1978];

B. "board" means the retirement board provided for in the Public Employees Retirement Act;

C. "dependent child" means a natural or adopted child who is physically or mentally incapable of financial self-support, regardless of age;

D. "educational retirement system" means the retirement system provided for in the Educational Retirement Act [Chapter 22, Article 11 NMSA 1978];

E. "effective date of retirement" means the first day of the month following the month in which the member met all requirements for retirement;

F. "final average salary" means the amount that is one-sixtieth of the greatest aggregate amount of salary paid a member for sixty consecutive, but not necessarily continuous, months of service credit;

G. "former member" means a person no longer in office who was previously covered pursuant to the provisions of Sections 10-12-1 through 10-12-18 NMSA 1978, but who has not retired pursuant to the provisions of the Judicial Retirement Act and who has received a refund of member contributions pursuant to the provisions of Sections 10-12B-1 through 10-12B-19 NMSA 1978;

H. "fund" means the judicial retirement fund;

I. "judge" means a judge of the metropolitan court, district court or court of appeals of New Mexico;

J. "justice" means a justice of the supreme court of New Mexico;

K. "member" means any judge or justice who is in office and covered pursuant to the provisions of the Judicial Retirement Act, or any person no longer in office who was previously a judge or justice covered pursuant to the provisions of the Judicial Retirement Act, who has not retired and who has not received a refund of member contributions from the fund;

L. "member contributions" means the amounts deducted from the salary of a member and credited to the member's individual account, together with interest, if any, credited thereto;

M. "minor child" means a natural or adopted child who has not reached his eighteenth birthday and who has not been emancipated by marriage or otherwise;

N. "pension" means a series of monthly payments to a retired member or survivor beneficiary pursuant to the provisions of the Judicial Retirement Act;

O. "refund beneficiary" means a person designated by the member, in writing in the form prescribed by the association, as the person who would be refunded the member's accumulated member contributions payable if the member dies and no survivor pension is payable, or who would receive the difference between pension paid and accumulated member contributions if the retired member dies before receiving in pension payments the amount of the accumulated member contributions;

P. "retire" means to:

(1) terminate employment with all employers covered by any state system or the educational retirement system; and

(2) receive a pension from one state system or the educational retirement system;

Q. "retired member" means a person who has met all requirements for retirement and who is receiving a pension from the fund;

R. "salary" means the base salary or wages paid a member, including longevity pay, for personal services rendered; provided that salary does not include overtime pay; allowances for housing, clothing, equipment or travel; payments for unused sick leave, unless the unused sick leave payment is made through continuation of the member on the regular payroll for the period represented by that payment; and any other form of remuneration not specifically designated by law as included in salary pursuant to the provisions of the Judicial Retirement Act;

S. "state system" means the retirement programs provided pursuant to the provisions of the Public Employees Retirement Act [Chapter 10, Article 11 NMSA 1978], the Magistrate Retirement Act [Chapter 10, Article 12C NMSA 1978] and the Judicial Retirement Act;

T. "surviving spouse" means the spouse to whom the member was married at the time of the member's death;

U. "survivor beneficiary" means a person who receives a pension or who has been designated to be paid a pension as a result of the death of a member or retired member; and

V. "years of service" means a period of time beginning on the date a person commences to hold office as a judge or justice because of appointment or election and ending on the date a person ceases to hold office as a judge or justice because of expiration of the judge's or justice's term, voluntary resignation, death or disability and shall include any fractions of years of service.

History: Laws 1992, ch. 111, § 2; 2003, ch. 81, § 1; 2014, ch. 35, § 2.

The 2014 amendment, effective July 1, 2014, defined "final average salary" to increase the number of years used to calculate the final average salary; deleted former Subsection C, which defined "current judge or justice"; deleted former Subsection G, which defined "former judge or justice"; added Subsection F; and deleted former Subsection O, which defined "new judge or justice".

Severability. — Laws 2014, ch. 35, § 16 provided that if any part or application of Laws 2014, ch. 35 is held invalid, the remainder or its application to other situations or persons shall not be affected.

The 2003 amendment, effective July 1, 2003, in Subsection H substituted "covered" for "a judge or justice" following "who was previously" near the beginning, added "pursuant to the provisions of Sections 10-12B-1 through 10-12B-19 NMSA 1978" at the end; inserted "metropolitan court" following "judge of the" in the middle of Subsection J; substituted "and" for "or" following "eighteenth birthday" near the middle of Subsection N; and substituted "who would" for "to" following "pension is payable," near the middle of Subsection Q.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — What constitutes "salary," "wages," "pay," or the like, within pension law basing benefits thereon, 91 A.L.R.5th 225.