Section 24-8-706 - Contributions - Members - Refund(a)(1) The contribution of each member of the Tier Two Actual Judicial Service Benefit Plan for the Arkansas Judicial Retirement System shall be five percent (5%) of each member's annual salary.(2)(A) A judge or justice who forfeits his or her rights to retirement benefits under § 24-8-710(b) is not required to continue to pay contributions to the system.(B) In the event a judge or justice forfeits his or her rights to retirement benefits under § 24-8-215(c), the judge or justice is entitled to receive the principal of the balance of his or her contributions to the system.(C) A judge or justice who forfeited his or her rights to retirement benefits under § 24-8-215(c) is not entitled to any interest accumulated from his or her contributions to the system.(b) If a judge or justice ceases to be a member prior to qualifying for retirement benefits, he or she shall be entitled to a refund of all contributions paid by him or her into the system. If a judge or justice who has received a refund returns to covered employment under the Arkansas Judicial Retirement System or a reciprocal system as defined in § 24-2-401, the person shall be eligible in accordance with methods and procedures established by the Board of Trustees of the Arkansas Judicial Retirement System to repay the refund and restore the service forfeited when the refund was received.(c) For purposes of deferring federal and state income tax and pursuant to the provisions of 26 U.S.C. § 414(h)(2), as adopted by § 26-51-414, the state shall pick up the members' contributions to the Judicial Retirement Fund under the Tier Two Actual Judicial Service Benefit Plan for the Arkansas Judicial Retirement System. Member contributions picked up by the state shall be paid from the same source of funds used for the payment of salary to a member. A deduction shall be made from each member's salary, equal to the amount of the member's contribution picked up by the employer. For all other purposes, member contributions picked up by the state shall be considered member contributions.Amended by Act 2023, No. 134,§ 2, eff. 7/1/2023.