Tenn. Code § 17-321
Any judge whose service is terminated for any reason shall, in lieu of all other benefits provided by this judges' retirement system, be entitled to a refund of his contributions without interest if his service at the time of termination is less than five (5) years, or be entitled to a refund of his contributions accumulated at three per cent (3%) interest, or at another rate of interest as the board of trustees may from time to time declare, if at the time of such termination he has completed at least five (5) years of service. Any judge who fails of reelection or who voluntarily retires or terminates his service before becoming eligible for any of the benefits otherwise provided in the judges' retirement system may be permitted to allow his contributions to remain until he reaches normal retirement age at which time he shall be eligible for a retirement benefit based on his actual service at time of termination, computed in the same manner as a normal retirement benefit in accordance with § 17-313 of this judges' retirement system. If any judge who terminates service and leaves his contributions in the system, and likewise any judge in office dies before he reaches normal retirement age his contingent annuitant or beneficiary under options 1, 2, or 3 of § 17-326 shall be entitled to have the judge's contributions left in the system until the judge would have reached normal retirement age if he had lived and at that time commenced to receive an optional benefit in the same amount as if the judge had lived until, retired on, and then died on, the day he reached normal retirement age. If a contingent annuitant or beneficiary dies or becomes disqualified by remarriage to receive the benefit after the death of the judge and before the benefit commences his contributions shall be refunded.
T.C.A. § 17-321