224.16. Judges may, before ceasing to hold office, elect to reduce their pension to allow their spouse to benefit from a pension that is more advantageous than the pension provided for in section 224.13. This reduction may, at the judge’s option, be equal to 3.5%, in which case the spouse will be entitled to a pension equal to 60% of the reduced pension, or 5.7%, in which case the spouse will be entitled to a pension equal to 66 2/3% of the reduced pension.
The election is irrevocable from the time the judge ceases to hold office, even in the absence of a spouse entitled to a pension.
However, the election is deemed never to have been made if the judge dies while in office, before being entitled to a pension, and leaves no spouse entitled to a pension.