(a) On and after March 7, 1961, the eligible employees of the Department of Corrections are authorized to become members of Division A within the retirement system.

(b) The Department of Corrections or such official therein who is responsible for the payment of compensation to the employees within that department shall cause to be deducted from the compensation of each member for each and every payroll period the employee contributions as may be required under this chapter and shall pay to the board of trustees, in such manner as the board of trustees may prescribe, the amounts so deducted. The commissioner of corrections is authorized and directed to pay such employer contributions as may be required under this chapter. Such employer contributions shall be paid to the board of trustees, as prescribed by it, from funds appropriated for the operation of the Department of Corrections.

(c) In addition to the regular employer contributions required under this chapter, the commissioner of corrections is authorized and directed to pay, from funds received by the Department of Corrections as compensation for the various services rendered by it, an additional contribution as determined by the board of trustees. The additional contribution shall be a regular quarterly amount sufficient to amortize within 15 years the total amount of the employer contributions which would have been paid for all of that department's employees from August 1, 1953, to July 1, 1961, and shall include interest on these employer contributions at a rate prescribed by the board of trustees. These quarterly payments shall begin on July 1, 1961. In the event the earnings of the department are not sufficient to pay such contributions, the contributions shall be paid from funds available to the department from appropriations, or otherwise. If the contributions are not made as provided in this Code section, this Code section shall be null and void.

(d) Any individual who is an employee of the Department of Corrections on March 7, 1961, may become a member of Division A of the retirement system; but he shall not be considered as eligible for any service credits whatsoever other than membership service for which he contributes.

(e) Any individual who on August 1, 1953, was an employee of the Department of Corrections and without a break in service with that department so remained in the employment of that department on March 7, 1961, and who has not previously declined membership in the retirement system shall, upon becoming a member of the retirement system and upon immediate payment by the member of the total amount of accumulated contributions which would have accrued had he been a contributing member since August 1, 1953, be entitled to all creditable service in the same manner as other individuals in that department who became members of Division A of the retirement system.

(f) Any eligible employee of the Department of Corrections who became a member of the retirement system under subsection (d) of this Code section and who did not immediately pay the full amount of those accumulated contributions may pay the amount of his accumulated contributions over a ten-year period by means of monthly payments. No individual shall be credited with the full amount of his prior service or membership service credits until such time as he has made the total contributions required of him. The board of trustees may promulgate rules and regulations to implement this Code section, including a prescription of the actuarial value which shall be credited to the member's account for each monthly payment made as herein provided if he should retire, die, or become disabled before having paid the full amount of the accumulated contributions required of him under subsection (e) of this Code section. The board of trustees may establish a date for the commencement for such payments, which date shall be no earlier than July 1, 1962.

(g) Anything in this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, employees of the Department of Corrections who become members of the retirement system shall be eligible for survivors benefits in accordance with the rules and regulations relative to the same which were in existence on July 1, 1953, provided that any determination relative to the member's eligibility for such benefits shall also be based upon the age of the member on the date he elects membership, notwithstanding the fact that he may have been an employee of the department on January 1, 1953.