Legislation introduced for the 2022 General Assembly session would allow Virginia judges to serve until they are 75, an increase of two years from the current law.
The measure was introduced by state Sen. William Stanley (R-Glade Hill). If enacted, it would not only bump up the retirement age two years, but allow any state judge who had submitted a notice of retirement upon reaching 73 to rescind that notice, if he or she had not formally retired yet.
The bill contains an emergency clause, allowing it to go into effect immediately upon enactment if a supermajority of both houses of the legislature agree.
Until a few years ago, the retirement age for state judges was 70.
Judges at all levels in Virginia – from local courts to the state Supreme Court – are elected by the General Assembly for terms ranging from six to 12 years. Regardless of the length of the term, a judge must depart the year he or she reaches the retirement age, although judges can then serve in substitute capacities as needed.