(a) Any other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, and pursuant to Article VII, Section III, Paragraph I and Article III, Section X of the Constitution of Georgia and Chapter 18 of this title, there is established as of July 1, 1956, Division A of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia as a separate coverage group to be specifically known as the "Employees' Social Security Coverage Group."

(b) Any person who was a member of the retirement system as of August 31, 1956, including any new member after that date with prior service or annuity savings credits, shall continue his membership without change in status, which membership shall be designated as the membership of Division B, unless such member expresses in writing to the board of trustees his desire to become a member of Division A.

(c) Any person who becomes a member on or after September 1, 1956, and who does not have either annuity savings or prior service credits shall have his membership established in Division A, unless prior to the execution of the contract extending social security coverage such individual has expressed his desire in writing to the board of trustees to be a member of Division B. After the execution date of the contract extending social security coverage, a member of Division A shall be ineligible for membership in Division B.

(d) Any person who joins the retirement system as a contributing member on or after the execution date of the contract extending social security coverage shall become a member of Division A, unless he has prior service or annuity savings credits, in which case he shall become a member of Division B pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section. The existence of prior service or annuity savings credits shall be ascertained from the retirement system by the employer at the time of transfer or reemployment. Any person who becomes a member of Division B under this subsection shall, upon written request made prior to a date to be established by the board of trustees, be transferred from Division B to Division A under conditions comparable to the dates and procedures applicable under subsection (b) of this Code section for transfer to Division A.

(e) Upon written request to the board of trustees and favorable decision by it and subject to applicable federal law, any member of Division B shall be transferred to Division A on a date fixed by the board of trustees, which date shall be no later than six months subsequent to the enactment and approval of permissive federal legislation extending social security coverage to employees of the state and further subject to the following conditions:

(1) Each member of Division B who elects to transfer to Division A shall pay to the retirement system a lump sum amount representing all retroactive employee contributions in excess of 2 percent of the first $4,200.00 annual wages as required by the Social Security Act to permit social security coverage to be extended to members of Division B. The equivalent of 2 percent of the first $4,200.00 annual wages contributed by each member of Division B who has elected not to transfer to Division A, which amount would have otherwise been used for social security contributions, shall be established as a separate record, and such accumulated contributions may be used to provide an additional annuity upon such employee's retirement or a lump sum payment at retirement whenever the Division B benefits are computed on the simplified benefit tables as provided in Code Section 47-2-28;

(2) Each employer is authorized and directed to pay to the retirement system the required retroactive employer contributions which are required by the Social Security Act in order to extend social security coverage to those members of Division B who elect to transfer to Division A, upon notice by the board of trustees of the amount due. The board of trustees is authorized to adopt and approve regulations which it deems appropriate to facilitate and expedite the transfer of any member of Division B to Division A of the retirement system, provided that those regulations conform to the conditions of applicable federal and state laws.

(f) Any other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, the accumulated contributions made on account of prior service by a member of Division A shall be reduced by an amount set forth in tables adopted by the board of trustees on August 10, 1956, so as to assure that the aggregate contributions of the state will remain at the present level, with the exception of any increased employer tax as referred to in subsection (h) of this Code section.

(g) The retirement allowance of any member of Division A who retires under this chapter and accepts employment from any state department or any agency which is supported in whole or in part by state funds, regardless of the source of such funds, shall be suspended during such time of his employment. If he is employed in a department subject to this chapter, he shall again become a member of Division A but shall contribute only the required social security tax. Upon separation of such member from state employment for any cause, all rights shall be vested in such member the same as if he had continued under his option to retire.

(h) Any other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, any required employee tax for social security coverage not otherwise retained by employer fiscal officers shall be deducted from each Division A member's individual annuity savings account by the retirement system for payment of such required tax. If the member's annuity savings account is insufficient to cover the required amount of employee tax, it shall be the duty of the fiscal officer of his employer to deduct from the current salary of the member such amounts as are necessary for payment of the employee tax. For those members of Division A covered for social security, it shall be the duty of the fiscal officers of the various employers to retain from each of the 5 1/2 percent employee-7 1/2 percent employer contributions for retirement system purposes, 2 percent of the member's first $4,200.00 annual wages, such amount to apply toward the employee-employer tax required under the Social Security Act. Any additional rate of employee-employer tax for social security shall result in a corresponding increase in the amount of tax payable by the employee and employer. All employee-employer taxes required under the Social Security Act after December 31, 1956, shall be retained by the fiscal officers of the various employers and reported to the board of trustees in accordance with rules and regulations established by the board of trustees. In order to facilitate the making of deductions and to simplify the reporting thereof for those members of Division A covered for social security, the board of trustees shall adopt such tables of employer and employee contributions as will result in uniform monthly contributions to the retirement system throughout the year. Such tables as adopted by the board of trustees shall not be placed in effect prior to January 1, 1963.

(i) Any other provisions of this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, the pension accumulation fund shall be the guaranty fund for guarantee of payment of the employee-employer tax required under the Social Security Act that was paid into that fund for the period of July 1, 1956, through December 31, 1956.

(j) Any member of Division A who has reached age 65 may, upon written application to and approval by the board of trustees, discontinue contributions which provide retirement benefits under this chapter. However, the employee tax provided under the Social Security Act shall be paid by the member.

(k) Members of Division A shall be given appropriate notice of a referendum to be held to determine if they will become covered for social security or not. If the referendum is in the affirmative, the board of trustees is authorized to enter into an appropriate agreement on the part of the state for such coverage with an effective date not earlier than July 1, 1956, at which time all provisions in this Code section relative to social security shall become operative.