On November 5, Oklahoma voters chose not to retain Supreme Court Justice Yvonne Kauger. Rather than waiting until her term officially expires on January 20, 2025, Justice Kauger has chosen to retire on December 1 of this year.

Having been appointed to the court in 1984, Justice Kauger, 87 years old, will have served more than 40 years on the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Both her service time and age mean that Justice Kauger will be immediately eligible to receive retirement benefits under the Uniform Retirement System for Justices and Judges (URSJJ).

The calculation for retirement benefits under the URSJJ is a simple one: years of service × final average salary × .04 (the computation factor). However, it’s important to note that the annual benefit cannot exceed 100 percent of a retiree’s final salary. Following the formula for Justice Kauger would result in an annual benefit of $257,779; however, as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Kauger received an annual salary of $161,112 which means her annual retirement benefits will be capped at that mark. 

This will still place her among Oklahoma’s top 15 government pension earners, along with former Governor Mary Fallin, former Attorney General Drew Edmondson, and others.