In 2024, voters in New Hampshire will decide on a constitutional amendment raising the mandatory retirement age for judges from 70 to 75.
The amendment passed the New Hampshire State Senate by 22-1 on March 30, 2023. Previously, it passed the New Hampshire House of Representatives by a 321-7 vote on March 15.
State Rep. Bob Lynn (R-17), who once served as a New Hampshire Supreme Court justice, sponsored the amendment. In a hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee, he said the judicial retirement age has stayed the same since 1784. He said, “At that time the average life expectancy, believe it or not, was 38 so there weren’t a whole lot of judges reaching that age back then. The current life expectancy average age is 76.4 years.”
