Each school employees retirement system contributor shall contribute eight per cent of the contributor's compensation to the employees' savings fund, except that the school employees retirement board may raise the contribution rate to a rate not greater than ten per cent of compensation.

The contributions by the direction of the school employees retirement board shall be deducted by the employer from the compensation of each contributor on each payroll of such contributor for each payroll period and shall be an amount equal to the required per cent of such contributor's compensation. On a finding by the board that an employer has failed or refused to deduct contributions for any employee during any year and to transmit such amounts to the retirement system, the retirement board may make a determination of the amount of the delinquent contributions, including interest at a rate set by the retirement board, from the end of each year, and certify to the employer the amounts for collection. If the amount is not paid by the employer, it may be certified for collection in the same manner as payments due the employers' trust fund. Any amounts so collected shall be held in trust pending receipt of a report of contributions for the employee for the period involved as provided by law and, thereafter, the amount in trust shall be transferred to the employee's savings fund to the credit of the employee. Any amount remaining after the transfer to the employees' savings fund shall be transferred to the employers' trust fund as a credit of the employer.

Additional deposits may be made to a member's account. At retirement, the amount deposited with interest may be used to provide additional annuity income. The additional deposits may be refunded to the member before retirement, and shall be refunded if the member withdraws the member's refundable amount. The deposits may be refunded to the beneficiary or estate if the member dies before retirement, and the board shall determine whether regular interest shall be credited to deposits thus refunded.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.146, SB 341, §1, eff. 1/7/2013.

Effective Date: 04-09-2001 .

Note: The amendment to this section by 129th General AssemblyFile No.10, SB 5, §1 was rejected by voters in the November, 2011 election.