1. The board of trustees of the Missouri state employees’ retirement system shall administer the deferred compensation fund for the employees of the state of Missouri that was previously administered by the deferred compensation commission, as established in section 105.910, prior to August 28, 2007. The board shall be vested with the same powers that it has under chapter 104 to enable it and its officers, employees, and agents to administer the fund under sections 105.900 to 105.927.

2. Except as provided in this subsection, participation in such plan shall be by a specific written agreement between state employees and the state, which shall provide for the deferral of such amounts of compensation as requested by the employee subject to any limitations imposed under federal law. Participating employees must authorize that such deferrals be made from their wages for the purpose of participation in such program. An election to defer compensation shall be made before the beginning of the month in which the compensation is paid. Contributions shall be made for payroll periods occurring on or after the first day of the month after the election is made. Each employee eligible to participate in the plan hired on or after July 1, 2012, shall be enrolled in the plan automatically and his or her employer shall, in accordance with the plan document, withhold and contribute to the plan an amount equal to one percent of eligible compensation received on and after the date of hire, unless the employee elects not to participate in the plan within the first thirty days of employment, and in that event, any amounts contributed and earnings thereon will be refunded by the plan to the employee pursuant to the procedure contained in the plan documents. Employees who are employed by a state college or university shall not be automatically enrolled but may elect to participate in the plan and make contributions in accordance with the terms of the plan. Employees who are enrolled automatically may elect to change the contribution rate in accordance with the terms of the plan. Employees who elect not to participate in the plan may at a later date elect to participate in the plan and make contributions in accordance with the terms of the plan. All assets and income of such fund shall be held in trust by the board for the exclusive benefit of participants and their beneficiaries. Assets of such trust, and the trust established pursuant to section 105.927, may be pooled solely for investment management purposes with assets of the trust established under section 104.320.

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3. Notwithstanding any other provision of sections 105.900 to 105.927, funds held for the state by the board in accordance with written deferred compensation agreements between the state and participating employees may be invested in such investments as are deemed appropriate by the board. All administrative costs of the program described in this section, including staffing and overhead expenses, may be paid out of assets of the fund, which may reduce the amount due participants in the fund. Such investments shall not be construed to be a prohibited use of the general assets of the state.

4. Investments offered under the deferred compensation fund for the employees of the state of Missouri shall be made available at the discretion of the board.

5. The board and employees of the Missouri state employees’ retirement system shall be immune from suit and shall not be subject to any claim or liability associated with any administrative actions or decisions made by the commission with regard to the deferred compensation program prior to the transfer made to the board under section 105.910.

6. The board and employees of the system shall not be liable for the investment decisions made or not made by participating employees as long as the board acts with the same skill, prudence, and diligence in the selection and monitoring of providers of investment products, education, advice, or any default investment option, under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a similar capacity and familiar with those matters would use in the conduct of a similar enterprise with similar aims.

7. The system shall be immune from suit and shall not be subject to any claim or liability associated with the administration of the deferred compensation fund by the board and employees of the system.

8. Beginning on or after September 1, 2011, if a participant under the deferred compensation plan or the plan established under section 105.927 is married on the date of his or her death, the participant’s surviving spouse shall be automatically designated as the primary beneficiary under both plans, unless the surviving spouse consented in writing, witnessed by a notary public, to allow the participant to designate a nonspouse beneficiary. As used in this subsection, “surviving spouse” means the spouse as defined pursuant to section 104.012 to whom the participant is lawfully married on the date of death of the participant, provided that a former spouse shall be treated as the surviving spouse of the participant to the extent provided under a judgment, decree, or order that relates to child support, alimony payments, or marital property rights made under Missouri domestic relations law that creates or recognizes the existence of such former spouse’s right to receive all or a portion expressed as a stated dollar amount or specific percentage stated in integers of the benefits payable from such plan upon the death of the participant. This subsection shall not apply to beneficiary designations made prior to September 1, 2011.

9. The board may adopt and amend plan documents to change the terms and conditions of the deferred compensation plan and the plan established under section 105.927 that are consistent with federal law.