- (a) Commencing October 1, 2005, 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 October 1, 2004, 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 provisions used in Section 36-27-190, if the employer elects to come under this article. Any employer making the election to come under the 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 any time and have the article become effective on October 1, 2005, or on October 1 of any subsequent fiscal year, and the employer shall not be required to pay his or her 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 36-27-190, but the increase shall not be less than fifteen dollars ($15) per month.
(Act 2005-316, 1st Sp. Sess., p. 766, §6.)