26 U.S.C. § 7447 — Retirement

(a) Definitions: "Tax Court" means the United States Tax Court. "Judge" means the chief judge or a judge of the Tax Court, but doesn't include someone performing judicial duties only as a recalled retiree under subsection (c). When figuring out how long someone has served as judge, every period served as judge, as a judge of the old Tax Court of the United States, or as a member of the Board of Tax Appeals counts, whether or not the periods were consecutive.

(b) Retirement: (1) Every judge must retire upon turning 70. (2) A judge who meets an age-and-service table may retire early: age 65 with at least 15 years served, 66 with 14, 67 with 13, 68 with 12, 69 with 11, or 70 with 10. (3) A judge who isn't reappointed after their term expires may retire when the term ends, if (A) they served as a Tax Court judge for 15 years or more, and (B) between 9 and 6 months before the term's expiration, they told the President in writing they were willing to accept reappointment. (4) A judge who becomes permanently disabled from doing the job must retire; the usual civil-service rule on automatic separation from service doesn't apply to judges. Any judge who retires is called a "senior judge."

(c) Recalling of retired judges: After retiring, an individual who elected retired pay under subsection (d) can be called back by the chief judge to perform judicial duties for whatever period the chief judge specifies. But the total of those periods in any calendar year can't exceed 90 days without the individual's consent, and the individual is excused from duty during any illness or disability that prevents performing it. Acts (or failures to act) by someone performing duties this way have the same legal force as if done by an active judge, but the recalled individual doesn't count as a judge for purposes of the numerical limit in section 7443(a). A recalled individual is paid the same compensation and travel and expense allowances as an active judge, instead of retired pay.

(d) Retired pay: An individual who (1) retires under (b)(1), (2), or (3) and elects retired pay under subsection (e) receives retired pay at a rate that is the same fraction of an active judge's salary as the number of years they served bears to 10 — capped at the full salary rate; or (2) retires under (b)(4) for disability and elects retired pay receives it (A) at the full salary rate if they served 10 years or more, or (B) at half that rate if they served less than 10 years. Retired pay starts accruing the day after judicial salary stops, continues for the rest of the individual's life, and is paid the same way as a judge's salary. When calculating years served for paragraph (1), a leftover fraction of a year under 6 months is dropped, and 6 months or more counts as a full year; time spent substantially full-time on recalled duty under (c) also counts as service.

(e) Election to receive retired pay: Any judge may elect to receive retired pay under (d). The election can be made only while the individual is a judge (or, for someone not reappointed, any time before the day after their successor takes office); once made it's irrevocable; any judge other than the chief judge files it in writing with the chief judge; and the chief judge files it in writing with the Office of Personnel Management. The chief judge sends OPM a copy of every notice filed with him under this subsection.

(f) Retired pay affected in certain cases: For someone with a retired-pay election in effect: (1) if they fail, during a calendar year, to perform recalled judicial duties required under (c), they forfeit all rights to retired pay for the 1-year period starting on the day they first fail to perform those duties. (2) If they perform (or supervise or direct) legal or accounting services in federal taxation for a client, employer, or the employer's clients, they permanently forfeit retired pay for all periods starting on or after the day they begin that activity — this rule doesn't apply to civil office or employment under the U.S. government. (3) If they accept paid civil office or employment under the U.S. government (other than recalled judicial duty under (c)), they forfeit retired pay for as long as they're paid for that work. (4)(A) An individual can instead elect to freeze their retired pay: once that election takes effect, forfeiture rules (1) and (2) (and the recall provision in (c)) stop applying, and the retired pay payable afterward is fixed at the rate the individual was entitled to at the time of the election. (B) This freeze election can be made only by someone who meets the age-and-service table in (b)(2), only while eligible to elect retired pay or while already receiving it, and must be made the same way as the retired-pay election; once it takes effect it is irrevocable. (C) It takes effect the first day of the month after the month the election is made.

(g) Coordination with civil service retirement: (1) Except as this subsection provides otherwise, the ordinary civil service retirement laws (including salary deductions) apply to judicial service as if this section didn't exist. (2) But once an individual has elected retired pay under (d): (A) no civil-service annuity or other payment is payable to anyone based on that individual's service, whether performed before or after the election and whether as judge or otherwise; (B) no Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund^* deduction is taken from the individual's retired pay or other pay after the election is filed; and (C) the individual, on application to the Office of Personnel Management, is paid the lump-sum credit computed under title 5 sections 8331(8) and 8401(19).

(h) Retirement for disability: (1) A judge who becomes permanently disabled from performing their duties must certify the disability to the President in writing. If the chief judge retires for disability, the retirement doesn't take effect until the President concurs. Any other judge retiring for disability must furnish the President a disability certificate signed by the chief judge. (2) If a permanently disabled judge doesn't retire, and the President finds the judge can't efficiently discharge all the duties of the office and that appointing an additional judge is necessary for efficient business, the President must declare that judge retired.

(i) Revocation of election to receive retired pay: (1) Despite the irrevocability in (e)(2), an individual who elected retired pay under (d) may revoke that election any time before the first day retired pay (or recalled-duty compensation instead of it) would otherwise begin to accrue. (2) Revocation is made by filing written notice with the Office of Personnel Management, which sends a copy to the chief judge. (3) After revocation: (A) for this section's purposes, the individual is treated as never having elected retired pay; (B) for purposes of section 7448 (the survivors annuity law), (i) the individual is treated as never having elected coverage under section 7448(b), and (ii) section 7448(g) stops applying, and the amount credited to the individual's survivors-annuity account, with 3 percent yearly compound interest to the revocation date, is returned to the individual; (C) no service credit is allowed unless proper civil-service deductions were withheld or an equivalent deposit (with interest) was made to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (D) the Tax Court must deposit into that Fund the additional amount it would have contributed but for the (e) election; and (E) once (D) is satisfied, the Tax Court service is treated as service for which deductions and contributions had been made all along.

(j) Thrift Savings Plan: (1)(A) A Tax Court judge may elect to contribute to the federal Thrift Savings Fund established under title 5 section 8437. (B) This election can be made only during the enrollment period title 5 section 8432(b) sets for individuals covered by chapter 84 of that title. (2) Except as this subsection provides otherwise, the title 5 chapter 84 rules (subchapters III and VII) apply to a judge who elects to contribute. (3)(A) A judge's contribution in any pay period can't exceed the maximum percentage of that period's basic pay allowed under title 5 section 8440f; retired pay under this section doesn't count as basic pay. (B) No government matching contribution under title 5 section 8432(c) is made for a judge who has elected retired pay under subsection (e). (C) The title 5 section 8433(b) distribution rule applies to a contributing judge whether they retire under (b) or simply stop serving without retiring under (b) — retirement under (b) counts as a "separation from service" for Thrift Savings purposes. (D) The title 5 section 8351(b)(5) rule (on spousal rights) applies to a contributing judge. (E) Despite (C), if a judge retires under this section, or resigns without meeting the (b)(2) age-and-service table, and their vested account balance is below the threshold the Executive Director of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board sets by regulation, the Executive Director pays the balance out in one single payment. (F) If a judge later receives retired pay after taking a Thrift Savings distribution, the retired pay is offset by the amount of the distribution that represents the government's own contributions made during full-time judicial service under the Federal Employees Retirement System^* (not the judge's own contributions or earnings on them); if that offset would exceed 50 percent of the first year's retired pay, it can instead be spread evenly over the first two years the individual receives the annuity.

(k) Teaching compensation of retired judges: For the outside-earned-income limit under section 501(a) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, approved teaching compensation a retired Tax Court judge receives doesn't count as outside earned income, as long as the judge retired under (b) and, for that year, either met the requirements of subsection (c) as the chief judge certifies, or retired under (b)(4) for disability.