(a) The personnel board may adopt, establish, and maintain a deferred compensation plan or plans, except under Internal Revenue Code Section 403 (b), for the employees of the State of Alabama or any city, town, county, or public entity or corporation organized pursuant to the laws of this state. Notwithstanding the foregoing, prior to the employees of a county or political subdivision of the county participating in a plan, the employing county or political subdivision of the county shall approve participation in the plan. The personnel board may include in any such plan any provision that does not cause the plan to fail to qualify for its tax-favored treatment under the United States Internal Revenue Code, including, but not limited to, participant loans, unforeseeable emergency or hardship distributions, Roth deferrals, rollovers, transfers to purchase service credit, and distributions to purchase a retired public safety officer's health insurance.

(b) The State of Alabama Personnel Board may adopt and arrange for consolidated billing and efficient investment, trustee, administrative, and professional services in order that any such plans adopted shall operate without cost to or contribution from the State of Alabama except for incidental expenses associated with administering any such plan, the payroll salary-reductions and the remittance thereof to the trustee or custodian of the plan or plans.

(c) Alabama state employees, or the employees of any city, town, county, or public entity or corporation organized pursuant to the laws of this state may participate in these plans on a voluntary basis by authorizing in writing to their employer a reduction in their cash remuneration to be placed in the plan or plans.

(d) The Finance Director, Comptroller, or other appropriate official is hereby authorized and directed to initiate payroll deductions for the plans as directed by each employee.

(e) Participants who are receiving monthly benefits from the Employees' Retirement System of Alabama, the Judicial Retirement Fund of Alabama, the Teachers' Retirement System of Alabama, or any other public retirement plan may opt to have the cost of their retiree health insurance deducted from their deferred compensation distribution in accordance with the guidelines of the United States Internal Revenue Service.

(f) It is expressly provided that any benefits under the provisions of this section shall be in addition to any other benefits provided by law for any employees of the State of Alabama, and this section is specifically made supplemental to and shall be construed in pari materia with the provisions of the employees' retirement law of Alabama.

(g) Except as otherwise required under the Internal Revenue Code, each such deferred compensation plan and its trust shall be established and maintained for the exclusive benefit, as defined by law of the plan's participants and their beneficiaries, and all assets of any such plan shall be held for the exclusive benefit of the plan's participants and their beneficiaries. For the purposes and within the meaning of Section 19-3B-102, each such plan is declared to be a trust created by statute and is therefore required to be administered in the manner of an express trust.