http://valawyersweekly.com/2010/04/02/budget-reflects-judicial-attrition-of-next-two-years/ VA Lawyers Weekly Fri, 03 May 2013 14:39:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://valawyersweekly.com/2010/04/02/budget-reflects-judicial-attrition-of-next-two-years/comment-page-1/#comment-10361 Fred Smithee Fri, 02 Apr 2010 14:43:49 +0000 http://valawyersweekly.com/?p=52707#comment-10361 And on top of the freeze on filling judicial positions, the General Assembly also changed the manner in which new participants in the Judicial Retirement System will have their pensions calculated. Under HB 1186, the weighting system for judges is now based on the age at which the judge takes the bench, and can be as little as 1.5 years to 1 year. Also, the bill makes new judges (along with other new employees) responsible for paying the so-called "employee's share" of the pension contribution out of their gross pay (currently it is paid as a non-taxable fringe benefit). This is effectively a 5% pay cut for new judges. The changes in the system strongly favor current state employees (who can convert their VRS years of service to JRS and may be exempt from the change in the law regarding payment of the "employee's share," though this is not certain) -- and it especially favors attorney members of the General Assembly who seek to bump up their pensions by taking the bench at the end of their legislative careers. And on top of the freeze on filling judicial positions, the General Assembly also changed the manner in which new participants in the Judicial Retirement System will have their pensions calculated. Under HB 1186, the weighting system for judges is now based on the age at which the judge takes the bench, and can be as little as 1.5 years to 1 year. Also, the bill makes new judges (along with other new employees) responsible for paying the so-called “employee’s share” of the pension contribution out of their gross pay (currently it is paid as a non-taxable fringe benefit). This is effectively a 5% pay cut for new judges. The changes in the system strongly favor current state employees (who can convert their VRS years of service to JRS and may be exempt from the change in the law regarding payment of the “employee’s share,” though this is not certain) — and it especially favors attorney members of the General Assembly who seek to bump up their pensions by taking the bench at the end of their legislative careers.

]]>