Cal. Gov. Code § 75070
In lieu of electing the unmodified allowance for his or her life alone, a judge may elect to have the actuarial equivalent of his or her retirement allowance as of the date of retirement applied to a lesser retirement allowance, in accordance with one of the optional settlements specified in Section 75071 when the judge retires on or before December 31, 2017, or Section 75071.5 when the judge retires on or after January 1, 2018.
That election, revocation, or change of election shall be made by a writing filed with the Judges' Retirement System within 30 calendar days after the making of the first payment on account of any retirement allowance.
If a person qualifies for the survivor allowance under Section 75077 or 75096.3, then the election with respect to any optional settlement other than the optional settlement in subdivision (a) of Section 75071 or subdivision (b) of Section 75071.5, shall apply only to the portion of the retirement allowance that exceeds the amount of the allowance deemed payable to the survivor.
Ca. Gov. Code § 75070