(a) Commencing October 1, 1998, each person whose employer participated in the Employees' Retirement System pursuant to Section 36-27-6, whose effective date of retirement for purposes of receiving benefits from the Employees' Retirement System is prior to July 1, 1998, and who is receiving or is entitled to receive a monthly allowance from the Employees' Retirement System, may receive a cost-of-living increase determined by the formula used in Section 36-27-140, if the employer elects to come under this article. Retirees who chose Option 2, 3, or 4 shall receive the cost-of-living increase reduced by the same percentage as the reduction which occurred because of the option selected unless the beneficiary under the option selected is deceased on July 1, 1998, in which case the increase shall not be reduced. Any employer making the election to come under this article shall bear the cost of the cost-of-living increases paid to its employees pursuant to this section. Any employer participating under Section 36-27-6, may elect to come under this article at anytime and have the article become effective on October 1, 1998, or on October 1 of any subsequent fiscal year and the employer shall not be required to pay this cost-of-living increase retroactively unless the employer elects to fund the increase.

(b) If the employer elects to come under this article, beneficiaries of deceased members or deceased retirees retired from an employer participating in the Employees' Retirement System pursuant to Section 36-27-6, shall receive the same cost-of-living increase provided in Section 36-27-140, reduced by the retiree's option factor but the reduction shall not make the increase less than thirty dollars ($30) per month.