Cal. Government Code § 75570

(a) In lieu of electing the unmodified allowance for the judge’s life alone, a judge who elects to retire and receive a monthly allowance under either subdivision (d) of Section 75522 or Section 75522.5 may elect, on or before the date of retirement, to have the actuarial equivalent of the judge’s 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 75571 if the judge retires on or before December 31, 2017, or Section 75571.5 if the judge retires on or after January 1, 2018. (b) That election, revocation, or change of election shall be made by a writing filed with the system within 30 calendar days after the making of the first payment on account of any retirement allowance. (c) If there is a spouse who would qualify for the survivor allowance under subdivision (b) of Section 75590, then the election, with respect to any optional settlement other than the optional settlement in subdivision (a) of Section 75571 or subdivision (b) of Section 75571.5, shall apply only to the portion of the retirement allowance that exceeds the amount of the allowance deemed payable to the surviving spouse.