Section 52-11-01 - Retirement for certain state employees1. The North Dakota national guard is authorized to establish an employee retirement program by contract with an insurance company, state or national bank and trust company, or an investment company, authorized under the law to do business in this state, the state investment board, or the North Dakota public employees retirement system. Except for a retirement program established under chapter 54-52, the North Dakota national guard shall prepare specifications of the terms of the retirement program which must be submitted to not less than three companies or agencies with a request for bids upon the retirement program contracts. After the submission of at least three bids, the adjutant general shall compare the bids, and with the approval of the governor, shall execute a contract for the retirement program with the company or agency submitting the lowest and best bid. The public employees retirement system board is authorized to administer the retirement plan established in 1961 and frozen to new entrants in 1980 for employees of job service North Dakota. The public employees retirement system board shall fund the administrative expenses of administering that retirement plan from the funds in that plan.2. The employing agency shall be authorized to withhold the employee's share of the contributions required under such retirement program from the salary paid each employee of such agency. The amount of such withholding must be an adjustable percentage rate of the employee's salary sufficient to provide financing of the required employee's contributions to such retirement plan as such plan was originally contracted and as it has been or will be amended, provided that such percentage rate may not exceed the percentage rate which may be fixed for withholding from federal employees for employee contributions to the federal retirement program under civil service. The employing agency shall be authorized to pay a sum as prescribed in the program contract toward the cost of such retirement program, which sum may not be in excess of the amount approved by the appropriate federal agency supervising the payment or reimbursement of salary and retirement program costs. The amount withheld from the wages due an employee and the amount to be paid by the employing agency must be paid to the company holding such retirement program contract in accordance with the terms of such contract.3. The employing agency's share of the costs of such retirement program must be paid from any funds made available to it for this purpose by the United States government, and in the case of employees of such agencies for whom the state does not receive federal payments for salary costs, such employer's share may be made from any appropriations made available for the purpose of paying such salaries. Payments may be made for prior service of employees in accordance with the terms of the retirement program contract and in accordance with the availability of funds. The contract must specify the terms and conditions under which employee contributions may be withdrawn from the program and for the crediting of the employer's contributions to future payments due from the employing agency. Provision may be made in the contract for optional payment of benefits to survivors of covered employees. Each agency participating in the retirement program shall be authorized to do all things necessary for the proper administration of the program, but no benefits payable under the terms of the retirement program contract shall ever become an obligation of the state.