(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 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.

(c) 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 or her employment. If he or she is employed in a department subject to this chapter, he or she 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 or she had continued under his or her option to retire.

(d) 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 or her 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.

(e) 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.