HB438 Alabama 2015 Session

Updated Feb 26, 2026

Notable

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Bill Poole
Republican
Session: Regular Session 2015
Title: Judges of Probate, Judicial Retirement Fund, authorize to purchase add'l retirement credits if they have the requisite years of creditable service, Sec. 12-18-133 am'd.
Summary: The bill lets eligible Alabama judges buy up to 12 months of extra retirement credit in the Judicial Retirement Fund by paying a calculated amount before retirement.
What This Bill Does
Eligible judges can elect to purchase up to one year of additional credit in the Judicial Retirement Fund if they have the required years of service. The payment is calculated as the sum of the judge's and the state's annual monthly contributions into the fund at the time of election, multiplied by the number of months of credit being purchased. Payments must be made at least 30 days before retirement, and the election and payment go to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Employees' Retirement System of Alabama, which administers the fund. The act becomes effective on the first day of the third month after passage and governor approval.

Who It Affects
Judges described in the bill (Supreme Court justices, Court of Civil Appeals judges, Court of Criminal Appeals judges, circuit judges, and district judges) who have the required years of service; they may elect to purchase up to 12 months of additional retirement credit.
The Judicial Retirement Fund and the state (through the fund's administration) receive and process the purchase payments; the Secretary-Treasurer of the Employees' Retirement System of Alabama handles election and payment processing.

Key Provisions
Eligibility: judges must have 24 years of creditable service with at least 14 years of creditable service to qualify to purchase up to 12 months of additional credit.
Purchase amount: the cost equals the combined annual monthly contributions of both the judge and the state into the fund, multiplied by each month (or fraction) of service credit purchased, up to 12 months.
Payment timing: the purchase payments are due in full at least 30 days before the judge’s last work date prior to retirement.
Administration: the election and payment are made to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Employees' Retirement System of Alabama, the administrator of the Judicial Retirement Fund.
Effective date: the act takes effect on the first day of the third month after it is passed and approved.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.
Subjects: Judge, Probate