(a) A judge of a municipal court upon reaching age sixty-eight (68) and having served for a minimum of seven (7) years immediately prior to retirement may retire.

(b)

(1) If incapacitating illness or disability should occur during any term for which a judge has been elected, he or she shall be eligible to retire.

(2) The retirement benefits to be paid to the retiree shall be equal to one-half (1/2) of the salary being paid at the time of retirement for and during his or her natural life.

(c) Notice of retirement under any provision of this subchapter shall be in writing and sent to the chair of the board of trustees who, upon finding that the applicant meets the requirements for retirement, shall authorize the secretary of the board to issue vouchers in payment to the applicant in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter for and during the natural life of the applicant.

(d)

(1) Upon the death of a judge receiving, or eligible to receive, retirement benefits under this subchapter, leaving a surviving spouse, there shall be paid to the surviving spouse for the remainder of his or her natural life, or until he or she remarries, benefits equal to one-half (1/2) of the retirement benefits which the deceased judge was receiving, or would have been eligible to receive, at the time of his or her death.

(2) Upon the death of a judge while serving in that capacity, leaving a surviving spouse who has been married to and living with the judge for at least five (5) years immediately preceding his or her death, that surviving spouse, if not remarried prior thereto, shall, upon reaching age fifty (50), be entitled to and shall receive, until his or her death or remarriage, benefits in an amount equal to one-half (1/2) of the retirement benefits to which the deceased judge would have been entitled had he or she been eligible for retirement on the date of his or her death.

(3)

(A) Upon the death of a municipal judge, while serving in that capacity, in a county which is authorized by the Arkansas Constitution to have two (2) districts and two (2) county seats, and who has served as a municipal judge of the court for a minimum of fifteen (15) years, leaving a surviving spouse who had been married to, and living with, the judge for at least fifteen (15) years immediately preceding his or her death, the surviving spouse, if not remarried prior thereto, shall, upon reaching age forty-seven (47), be eligible to apply for, and shall receive until his or her death or remarriage, benefits as authorized in this subdivision (d)(3) in an amount equal to one-half (1/2) of the retirement benefits to which the deceased judge would have been entitled had he or she been eligible for retirement on the date of his or her death.

(B) This subdivision (d)(3) shall apply to all such municipal judges now serving, or who shall serve in the future, or who have served as such during the five-year period immediately prior to March 5, 1985, who have accumulated fifteen (15) years of service as a municipal judge and who meet the other requirements of this subdivision (d)(3).

(C) This subdivision (d)(3) shall not apply to any retirement funds which are administered by the state, nor shall any surviving spouse be entitled to the benefits provided by this subdivision (d)(3) unless the payment of the benefits has been approved by both the governing body of the city wherein the municipal court sits and the quorum court of the county wherein the municipal court sits.