Aug. 31, 2026
Judges are heading for the exits. This bill wants a few to stay.
AB 1844, a California Judges Association priority now awaiting final votes, would let judges name beneficiaries other than a spouse and ease survivor-benefit rules for late-career appointees, changes supporters say could keep experienced jurists from joining the exodus from the bench.
California has spent the past few years watching hundreds of judges head for the exits.
Some were eager to retire. Some were not.
For some, pension rules created an incentive to leave: Judges who died suddenly could leave their spouses with only a fraction of their pensions, while those without a spouse or domestic partner could not designate someone else who depended on them to receive certain benefits.
AB 1844 seeks to address both problems -- and maybe convinc...
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