2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FOUR - Judiciary (§§ 1-3 — 2166) › PART I - Organization of the Court (§§ 1-3 — 251) › Chapter 17 - Judicial Retirement (§§ 231 — 246) › § 236 - Retirement pension

(1) Any participant who has enrolled in the System for the first time on or before June 30, 2014, and for any cause other than dismissal involving moral turpitude, ceases in his/her functions as a judge, shall be entitled to a retirement pension which shall begin on the date he/she specifies on the written application for retirement, subject to the following provisions:
(a) In no case shall payment of the pension start on a date prior to the date of his/her separation from service nor shall it be made retroactive for more than thirty (30) days as of the date on which the application for pension is filed.
(b) That the participant has reached the age of sixty (60) or more and has at least ten (10) years of creditable service.
(c) That the participant is not receiving or entitled to receive any salary or remuneration from the Government for services rendered in any capacity on the date fixed for him/her to receive a retirement pension.
(2) Any participant whose separation occurs before he/she reaches the age of sixty (60) and who has at least ten (10) years of creditable service and who has neither solicited nor received reimbursement of the accrued contributions, shall be entitled to a deferred retirement pension. Said participant shall receive a deferred retirement pension upon reaching the age of sixty (60) or on any subsequent date, at his/her option, if he/she has completed ten (10) or more years or more [sic], and less than twenty (20) years of service.
(3) Those participants, who without having reached the age of sixty (60), have twenty (20) years or more of creditable service solicit and are granted a pension, their pension shall be computed as indicated below, except that it shall be reduced to a sum which, according to said participant’s age on the date of retirement, represents the actuarial equivalent of a pension payable when the participant reaches the age of sixty (60), except that in the case of participants who hold office as judges without fixed terms of office the actuarial reductions shall not apply.
(4) The retirement pension of any participant shall be equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of the highest salary earned as a judge, plus 25/60 of one percent (1%) of the highest salary earned as a judge for each month of creditable service in excess of ten (10) years of service. In such cases, the retirement pension shall not exceed sixty percent (60%) of the highest salary earned as a judge. Notwithstanding the foregoing, participants who are eligible to apply for a retirement pension on or before July 1, 2015, may receive a higher pension, but in no case such pension shall exceed seventy-five percent (75%) of the highest salary earned as a judge.
(5) Separation from service shall be compulsory for every participant who reaches the age of seventy (70). If a participant reaches the compulsory age for retirement without meeting the ten (10) years of service requirement, said participant is entitled to receive the reimbursement of the contributions accrued in his/her favor including interest or, in lieu thereof, a proportional retirement pension. In case a pensioner returns to Government service in any capacity, he/she shall have the option of receiving the salary corresponding to the position or continue receiving payments from the Judicature Retirement System. If the pensioner has chosen the salary corresponding to the position by the termination of his/her incumbency, the pension payments shall be resumed at the same type received by the pensioner before his/her return to Government service.
(6) If the pensioner is reinstated to office as judge, his/her condition as participant shall be reestablished and he/she shall obtain credit for services rendered after being reinstated through the payment of the contributions corresponding to the System on the basis of the services rendered and the salaries earned after reinstatement. The pensioner reinstated to office as judge may choose:
(a) To return all pension payments received from the System, in which case, upon his/her separation from service the pension shall be computed anew on the basis of all services rendered before and after his/her reinstatement in the manner prescribed in this chapter for retirement annuities, or
(b) not to return the pension payments already received, in which case, upon his/her definitive separation from service, payment of the suspended pension shall be resumed and a supplementary annuity shall also be paid on the basis of the services rendered and the average annual salary received as of his/her reinstatement to service. The supplementary annuity shall be computed according to the formula established in this chapter for retirement annuities.
History —Oct. 19, 1954, No. 12, p. 152, § 4; June 25, 1964, No. 78, p. 247; June 29, 1968, No. 164, p. 528; June 25, 1969, No. 71, p. 217; Apr. 26, 1972, No. 21, p. 42, § 1; May 31, 1972, No. 75, p. 160, § 2; July 24, 1985, No. 17, p. 721; July 9, 1986, No. 81, p. 262, § 1; Dec. 8, 1989, No. 20, p. 582; Sept. 16, 1992, No. 66, § 1; July 28, 1993, No. 34, § 4; Apr. 28, 1996, No. 25, § 1; June 28, 2007, No. 54, § 1, eff. 90 days after June 28, 2007; Dec. 24, 2013, No. 162, § 2.