As it stands, any lawyer who is nominated for a state judgeship and serves on the bench for even the briefest period is eligible for a pension equal to two-thirds of his or her judicial salary. A Superior Court judge currently makes $154,559 annually, meaning a pension would pay about $103,000 a year, plus benefits.
What was once a simple fiscal fact is now a bone of contention among some state lawmakers who noted that two of the 16 lawyers recently nominated by Gov. Dannel Malloy for Superior Court posts are in their late 60s and will serve only a few years before retiring and collecting a pension that could net them a million dollars or more over the rest of their lives.
