A. The board shall solicit and review proposals for providing retirement, death and any other benefits deemed desirable by the board for participants in the alternative retirement plan. The board shall solicit proposals for providing the benefits through contracts or investments held in trust or a custodial account that meets the requirements of Section 401(a) or 403(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, including, without limitation, annuity contracts or certificates that are fixed or variable in nature or some combination thereof.

B. The board, after consultation with the qualifying state educational institutions, shall select no less than two nor more than five contractors or carriers to provide the contracts or certificates. In making its selection, the board shall consider, among other things, the following criteria:

(1) the portability of the benefits offered, based upon the number of states and institutions of higher education in which the offeror provides similar benefits;

(2) the nature and extent of the rights and benefits that would be provided to the participants, including the right to maintain their accounts or to transfer the balance to another eligible retirement plan upon termination of employment with the qualifying educational institution, to the extent permitted for a plan qualified under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;

(3) the relation of the rights and benefits to the contributions that would be made by the participants and the qualifying state educational institutions;

(4) the ability of the offeror to provide the rights and benefits;

(5) the suitability of the rights and benefits for recruitment and retention of employees by the qualifying state educational institutions; and

(6) compliance with the requirements of the Educational Retirement Act and Section 401(a) or 403(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

C. The board shall provide for the administration and maintenance of the alternative retirement plan and may adopt rules and regulations for that purpose.

History: 1978 Comp., § 22-11-52, enacted by Laws 1991, ch. 118, § 10; 2009, ch. 9, § 3.

Cross references. — For Sections 401(a)(17) and 403(a) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, see 26 U.S.C. §§ 401(a)(17) and 403(a), respectively.

The 2009 amendment, effective March 18, 2009, in Subsection A, required the board to solicit proposals for providing benefits through contracts or investments held in trust or a custodial account that meets the requirements of Section 401(a) or 403(a) of the Internal Revenue Code; in Paragraph (2) of Subsection B, provided that the rights of participants include the right to maintain an account or to transfer the balance of an account to another eligible retirement plan upon termination of employment to the extent permitted under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code; and in Paragraph (6) of Subsection B, added compliance with Section 401(a) or 403(a) of the Internal Revenue Code as a criteria.