§51-9-5. Election not to participate, contribute, or be a member; authorized transfers of service credit by a judge; duplicate use of service credit prohibited.
(a) Notwithstanding any provisions of this article, any judge may in writing notify the auditor within thirty days after he or she takes office, or, if he or she is in office, on the date this article becomes effective, then within thirty days from such latter date, that such judge elects not to become a member or make any payments or contributions to the trust fund, in which event every judge, so electing, shall not thereafter at any time be entitled to receive any retirement pay or benefits under provisions of this article, and any deduction that may have theretofore been made from the salary of such judge and paid into the fund shall be refunded without interest, to him or her by the auditor by warrant drawn on the trust fund. Any judge who has so elected not to become a member or not to contribute, shall nevertheless thereafter be permitted to become such member, contribute and become eligible for retirement benefits by paying into the judges' retirement fund all contributions such judge would have been required to pay into the fund, together with interest thereon at a rate to be determined by the state auditor as reasonable for such prior periods, as if such judge had not previously elected not to be a member and not to contribute.

(b) There may be transfers of service credit on proper basis between the judges' retirement system and the public employees retirement system, where such service credit constitutes qualified and eligible credit under the recipient system's statutes, in order to allow full flexibility of choice of option by a judge or judicial member; but in no case shall benefits be receivable from more than one of such state retirement systems, nor shall any service credit be usable more than once and then only in the finally chosen state retirement system.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2012 1st Special Session