This bill amends existing retirement law (several sections of RCW chapter 41.40) to allow targeted, one-time irrevocable elections and related purchase options for judges and commissioners to increase the defined benefit multiplier for future and, in some cases, prior judicial service. For members of plans 1 and 2 employed as supreme court justice, court of appeals judge, or superior court judge there were earlier 2007 and 2009 election/application windows to elect an additional 1.5% of average final compensation per year of future service and to purchase that increase for prior service. The bill adds a January 1–April 1, 2026 election window for plan 1 and plan 2 members employed as supreme court commissioners, deputy commissioners, or court of appeals commissioners to elect an additional 1.5% per year for future service, and a January 1–June 30, 2028 application window to purchase that multiplier for prior commissioner service. For plan 3 members the bill provides a parallel one-time election and purchase framework but with a smaller multiplier: plan 3 members employed as supreme court commissioners, deputy commissioners, or court of appeals commissioners may elect between January 1 and April 1, 2026 to accrue an additional 0.6% (or 0.6 percent is referenced) per year of future service and may apply January 1–June 30, 2028 to increase and purchase that multiplier for prior commissioner service. Purchase payment rules differ by plan: plan 1/2 purchases are specified as 5% of salary per month of service plus 5.5% interest from the dates service was earned; plan 3 purchases are specified as 2.5% of salary per month plus 5.5% interest; in all cases the purchase price must not exceed the actuarially equivalent value and payment generally must be made prior to retirement, subject to department rules. Payments may be made by lump sum, eligible rollover, direct rollover, or trustee-to-trustee transfer, with the department required to adopt rules ensuring compliance with the Internal Revenue Code and IRS regulations; members electing under certain subsections must contribute at least 7.5% of pay to their defined contribution account. The bill also amends retirement allowance calculations in other RCW sections: it sets certain retirement allowances at 3.5% of average final compensation per year of service for specified justices, judges, and commissioners in defined circumstances (RCW 41.40.767 as amended), and amends RCW 41.40.877 to specify a 1.6% per year retirement allowance for plan 3 members who elected under RCW 41.40.870(1), with combined benefits and purchases subject to a 37.5% cap for plan 3 and a 75% cap referenced for plan 1/2 in other provisions. The administrative office of the courts must receive copies of written elections; “the department” and the director are assigned actuarial, rulemaking, and payment-administration roles. Some text and cross-references are missing from the provided extracts, so the bill’s complete provisions are unclear in places. The extract ends mid-sentence in one section, RCW 41.40.877 is listed as amended but its full amended text is not all present here, the formal identity of “the department” is not specified in the extracts, and certain referenced subsections and definitions (for example, precise definitions of “average final compensation,” “plan 3,” and some subsection texts) are not included.

If enacted, the bill would give current and some former judges and court commissioners new, one-time choices to increase their guaranteed pension accruals for future service by accepting a different funding arrangement and, if they want, to buy the higher multiplier for prior judicial service. For plan 1 and 2 members certain earlier judge elections and a new 2026 window for commissioners allow an increased 1.5% multiplier option (with specific buyback rules), while plan 3 members get a smaller additional multiplier (0.6%) with a 2026 election window for commissioners and a 2028 window to buy back past commissioner service; purchases must be paid before retirement using the prescribed payment formulas or an actuarial equivalent, can be rolled over subject to IRS rules, and are capped so total benefits cannot exceed set percentages of final pay. The people most affected are supreme court justices, court of appeals judges, superior court judges, and supreme court or court of appeals commissioners who are in plans 1, 2, or 3: they gain an option to increase lifetime pension income but face an irrevocable election, possible upfront or rolled-over payments to buy prior service (plan 1/2 purchase formula shown as 5% of salary per month plus 5.5% interest; plan 3 shown as 2.5% plus 5.5% interest, with actuarial caps), and new filing and contribution rules (including a 7.5% minimum DC contribution for certain plan 3 electors). The department and the Administrative Office of the Courts will have added administrative work to accept elections, adopt rules, and ensure tax-compliant rollovers; key implementation details and the full statutory text are missing from the provided extracts, so some operational rules and agency identities remain unclear.