(a) Membership in the system for members of the Judiciary shall be optional, and shall be made available to members of the Judiciary who were in service after January 28, 1977. Salary deductions for new members of the system, at the rate prescribed herein, shall begin from the first payroll period following the filing of the application with the Administrator and credited service as a member of the system shall begin to accrue. Any new member who desires credit for service rendered as a member of the Judiciary shall contribute to the system 15% of his annual compensation.
(b) Each person who becomes a member of the Judiciary after January 28, 1977, and who is then not a participant by previous appointment, shall automatically become a member of the system and be subject to compensation deductions hereunder, unless, within 90 days from the date he becomes a member of the Judiciary, he filed with the Administrator a written notice of election not to participate.
(c) Participation in the system on the part of any member of the Judiciary shall continue until the date he becomes an annuitant, dies or accepts a refund of his contributions thereto.
(d) The rate of contribution to the system on the part of a member of the Judiciary who becomes a member of the system shall be 11% of his annual compensation. This rate shall apply to service rendered beginning from the first date the member takes the oath of office as a member of the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands.
(e) Notwithstanding any other law, the conditions governing eligibility for service retirement for any member of the Judiciary and the amount of the annuity shall be as stated in this section as follows;
(1) Vesting in a service retirement annuity shall attach upon completion of one (1) term. Any member shall be eligible for service retirement beginning at age 50 on a judicial annuity equal to the following rates;
(A) after one (1) term in office, 30% of his compensation while in office;
(B) after two (2) terms in office 60% of his compensation while in office;
(C) after three (3) terms in office, 90% of compensation while in office; and
(D) after 20 years in office, 100% of his compensation while in office.
(2) In the computation of total credit for prior service or membership service, nine months or more of service constitute one year of service; six to eight months inclusive, constitute three quarters of a year; three to five months inclusive, constitute one half of a year; less than three months constitute one quarter of one year, and not more than one year service credit may be granted for service rendered during a fiscal year. Fifteen days or more of service during any month constitute one month of service; five to fourteen days inclusive, constitute one half of one month; less than five days, inclusive constitute one quarter of a month.
(3) For the purposes of this subsection, the term “compensation” shall mean the highest rate of compensation, received by that member of the Judiciary during his tenure and shall increase only as provided under this chapter.
(f) In the case of any member of the Judiciary who shall become separated from service before he completed an aggregate of one (1) term as a member of the Judiciary, the total amount paid by the member, shall upon his application, be returned to him or the Judicial service shall be credited to the member's service as provided in the provisions of this chapter. No member of the Judiciary shall thereafter receive credit for the service unless he again becomes a member of the Judiciary and pays back into the system the amount so returned.
(g) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to prevent any person eligible therefore from simultaneously receiving an annuity computed on the basis of years of service other than as a member of the Judiciary and an annuity computed in accordance with this section; nor shall anything contained in this chapter be construed to prevent a member of the Judiciary from receiving, while serving in the Judiciary, an annuity for non judicial service.
(h) As used in this section, the term Judiciary means the judges and magistrate judges of the Superior Court and the justices of the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands.
(i) In no case shall service other than as a member of the Judiciary be considered service for the purposes of this section, nor shall service as a member of the Judiciary be considered service for the purpose other than as specified in this section.
(j) The provisions of this section with respect to conditions governing membership in the system, rates of contribution, conditions for retirement and rates of annuity, as prescribed by this chapter, shall apply to all membership of the Judiciary in service on January 28, 1977, and to those who become members of the Judiciary thereafter. All other sections of this chapter to the extent that they confer additional rights or benefits in the system to participants therein, shall apply with equal force to members of the Judiciary who are members of the system.
(k) No credited service benefit may be paid to any member of the judiciary until the System has received retirement contributions payments from the employer and employee.