The History of JRS

Established as a Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) by state statute on July 1, 1941 the System commenced operations effective November 1, 1941.

November 1, 2011 will mark the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Judges' Retirement System (JRS). During the first 70 years, the System grew from 260 active participants in 1941 to more than 900 in 2010. On June 30, 1942 the System had seven annuitants receiving an average monthly benefit of approximately $300. At June 30, 2010, there were 665 annuitants receiving monthly retirement benefits averaging nearly $9,400 and 334 survivors receiving monthly benefits averaging slightly more than $4,500.

The System's investment portfolio, which began as a $100,000 U.S. Defense Series E Savings Bond, has grown to more than $506 million and now includes investments in U.S. and foreign bonds and equity securities, venture capital and real estate.

At June 30, 1942, the actuarial determined liability of JRS was $177,000 while the amount of fund balances for participant contributions and future operations totaled $83,000 resulting in an unfunded actuarial liability of $94,000. At June 30, 2010, the accrued actuarial liability of the System amounted to $1.819 billion and the actuarial value of assets amounted to $619.9 million resulting in an unfunded actuarial liability of $1.2 billion.

The System offers educational services to active members. The programs include one-on-one counseling and a pre-retirement seminar.