Effective 28 Aug 1997

476.539. Surviving spouse of judge may become a special consultant, when, duties — compensation to be judgment and claim exempt, also unassignable. — 1. Upon application to the board of trustees of the Missouri state employees' retirement system, a surviving spouse of a judge who died while serving as a judge and who had served at least twenty-five years as a judge shall be made, constituted, appointed, and employed by the board as a special consultant on the problems of surviving spouses and other state matters for the remainder of the surviving spouse's life if the surviving spouse was married to the deceased judge continuously for twenty-five years immediately preceding the judge's death and also on the day of the judge's death and if the surviving spouse is not eligible to receive benefits under section 476.452 or 476.535. Upon request of the board the consultant shall give opinions or be available to give opinions in writing or orally in response to such requests. As compensation the consultant shall receive an annual amount equal to one-half of the compensation of a special commissioner or referee as provided in section 476.450.

2. Upon application to the board of trustees of the Missouri state employees' retirement system, a surviving spouse of a judge, as defined in section 476.515, who dies on or after January 1, 1989, and who has at least eleven years of creditable service as a judge shall be made, constituted, appointed, and employed by the board as a special consultant on the problems of surviving spouses and other state matters for the remainder of the surviving spouse's life if the surviving spouse was married to the deceased judge continuously for at least ten years immediately preceding the judge's death and also on the day of the judge's death and if the surviving spouse is not eligible to receive benefits under section 476.452 or 476.535. Upon request of the board the consultant shall give opinions or be available to give opinions in writing or orally in response to such requests. As compensation the consultant shall receive, beginning on the date the deceased judge would have been eligible to receive an annuity, an annual amount equal to one-half of the compensation the judge would receive as if the judge was eligible to retire with a full annuity on the date of the judge's death.

3. Upon application to the board of trustees of the Missouri state employees' retirement system, a surviving spouse, under subsection 1 of section 476.515, of a judge who was approved for long-term disability benefits and dies on or after January 1, 1994, shall be made, constituted, appointed and employed by the board as a special consultant on the problems of surviving spouses and other state matters for the remainder of the surviving spouse's life. Upon request of the board the consultant shall give opinions or be available to give opinions in writing or orally in response to such request. As compensation the consultant's benefit effective on the date the judge died shall be increased to an annual amount equal to fifty percent of the amount of retirement compensation provided in section 476.530 regardless of the period of the person's judicial service.

4. The compensation provided for in this section shall not be subject to execution, garnishment, attachment, writ of sequestration, or any other process or claim whatsoever, and shall be unassignable, anything to the contrary notwithstanding.

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(L. 1987 H.B. 713, A.L. 1989 H.B. 674, A.L. 1995 H.B. 416, et al., A.L. 1997 H.B. 356)