(a)In the event a plan is established, the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan shall have, as a minimum, provisions which require that:
(1)The Board of Trustees of the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Retirement System approve of the person's participation in the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan;
(2)The member's deferred retirement benefits deposited into an account in which shall be accumulated the member's deferred option contributions plus interest;
(3)The rate of interest to be credited to each member's deferred option account shall be an amount to be determined by the board, to be paid on the mean balance in the account for the fiscal year;
(4)When a member begins participation in the Arkansas State Highway Employees
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(a) In the event a plan is established, the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan shall have, as a minimum, provisions which require that: (1) The Board of Trustees of the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Retirement System approve of the person's participation in the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan; (2) The member's deferred retirement benefits deposited into an account in which shall be accumulated the member's deferred option contributions plus interest; (3) The rate of interest to be credited to each member's deferred option account shall be an amount to be determined by the board, to be paid on the mean balance in the account for the fiscal year; (4) When a member begins participation in the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan, the member's contributions and the state's contributions, as employer, to the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Retirement System shall be as follows: (A) Beginning on July 1, 2021, the state shall remit contributions to the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Retirement System for a member participating in the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan in an amount equal to the employer contribution for an active employee as prescribed in § 24-5-109 ; (B) For an employee hired before July 1, 2021, the employee contribution to the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Retirement System shall cease upon beginning participation in the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan; and (C) For an employee hired after June 30, 2021, the employee shall be required to remit member contributions to the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Retirement System in an amount equal to the current active employee contribution rate upon beginning participation in the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan; (5) A member's selection of the deferred retirement option, the time of the retirement deferral, and the selection of the retirement annuity are irrevocable; (6) The duration of participation in the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan shall not exceed five (5) years except under subsection (b) of this section; and (7) (A) The service retirement benefit for a member beginning participation in the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan after June 30, 2021, shall not include an amount added to the member's annuity to offset the cost of health insurance and health care as provided in § 24-5-125(a)(1) . (B) A member beginning participation in the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan after June 30, 2021, shall be eligible to receive an amount added to his or her annuity to offset the cost of health insurance and health care as provided in § 24-5-125(a)(1) if: (i) The member ceases participation in the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan; (ii) The member terminates his or her employment with the Arkansas Department of Transportation; and (iii) Annuity benefit payments to the member begin. (b) (1) The member may participate in the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan until the later of sixty-five (65) years of age or the fifth anniversary of the member's entry into the plan. (2) The member who enters the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan before sixty (60) years of age may continue to participate in the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan until the member retires or reaches sixty-five (65) years of age. (3) (A) An employee hired before July 1, 2021, who participates in the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan for more than five (5) years shall contribute six percent (6%) of his or her gross salary to the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Retirement System. (B) An employee hired after June 30, 2021, shall contribute the current member contribution rate for active members to the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Retirement System as prescribed in § 24-5-108 . (4) In order to participate in the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan longer than five (5) years, the amount deposited into the member's deferred retirement option plan account shall be cost neutral to the system, and the system's actuary shall determine this amount. (c) The board may determine any other provisions of the plan, such as the amount of credited service to participate, the method of collections for participants of the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Deferred Retirement Option Plan, and the payment methods in the event of the death of a participant.