(a) As used in this Code section, the term:

(1) "Department" means the Department of Juvenile Justice.

(2) "Local retirement system" means a retirement or pension system maintained by a county which includes as members thereof county juvenile detention employees who become employees of the department as a result of the county juvenile detention services' being transferred to the department, and the term includes any such retirement or pension system created by law or created by ordinance or resolution of the county under the home rule provisions of the Constitution of Georgia.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, any person who becomes an employee of the department as a result of a transfer of county juvenile detention services to the department shall become a member of this retirement system. Within 30 days of the day any such employee becomes a member of this retirement system, the board of trustees or other managing body of the applicable local retirement system shall pay to the board of trustees of this retirement system the total employee and employer contributions plus interest made by or on behalf of the employee to the local retirement system, together with accumulated interest thereon, and in addition the governing authority of the county may pay to the board of trustees of this retirement system on behalf of the employee such amount as such county governing authority deems appropriate, and the employee shall receive such creditable service in this retirement system as the total amount will allow without creating any accrued liability against this retirement system; provided, however, that no such person shall receive creditable service in excess of the accredited service previously rendered as an employee of the applicable local retirement system.

(c) (1) An employee subject to this Code section may elect to continue active membership in the local retirement system, and the salary received by such employee as an employee of the department shall be the salary of such employee for all purposes under the local retirement system. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, such employee shall continue to pay the employee contributions required under the local retirement system, and the department may enter into an agreement with the board of trustees or other managing body of the local retirement system whereby the department may deduct such employee contributions from the compensation of the employee and pay the amount deducted to the local retirement system. Employer contributions for continued membership in the local retirement system shall be computed at the same percentage rate applicable to all other state employees on the basis of the state salary paid to such employees electing to continue membership in the local retirement system and shall be paid by the department when applicable to the local retirement system; provided, however, that:

(A) If the employer contributions paid by the department exceed the employer contributions applicable to all other employees of the local retirement system, the difference between the percentage rate of employer contributions paid by the department and the percentage rate of employer contributions applicable to all other employees of the local retirement system shall be applied to offset the percentage rate of employee contributions required of such state employees remaining in the local retirement system; and

(B) If the employer contributions to be paid by the department under this subsection would exceed the total employee and employer contributions required under the local retirement system, the department shall only be required to pay the total amount of such employee and employer contributions required under the local retirement system.

(2) An employee continuing membership under a local retirement system under this subsection shall retain all rights, benefits, and privileges under the local retirement system in the same manner and to the same extent as if the employee remained an employee of the county; provided, however, that such employee shall not be entitled to health and life insurance benefits available to county employees. An employee electing to continue membership in a local retirement system shall not be and may not become a member of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia.

(d) To the extent this Code section conflicts with or is inconsistent with the provisions of a local retirement or pension system affected by this Code section, whether such local retirement or pension system was created by law or by local ordinance, the provisions of this Code section shall control.