(a) For purposes of any public pension plan, as defined in section 356.63, paragraph (b), each employer shall pick up the employee contributions required under law or under the pension plan document for all salaries. If the United States Treasury Department rules that under section 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended through December 31, 1992, that these picked up contributions are not includable in the employee’s adjusted gross income until they are distributed or made available, then these picked up contributions must be treated as employer contributions in determining tax treatment under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the employer shall discontinue withholding federal income taxes on the amount of these contributions. The employer shall pay these picked up contributions from the same source of funds as is used to pay the salary of the employee. The employer shall pick up these employee contributions by a reduction in the cash salary of the employee.

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(b) Employee contributions that are picked up must be treated for all purposes of the public pension plan in the same manner and to the same extent as employee contributions that were made before the date on which the employee contributions pick up began. The amount of the employee contributions that are picked up must be included in the salary upon which retirement coverage is credited and upon which retirement and survivor’s benefits are determined. For purposes of this section, “employee” means any person covered by a public pension plan. For purposes of this section, “employee contributions” include any sums deducted from the employee’s salary or wages or otherwise paid in lieu thereof, regardless of whether they are denominated contributions by the public pension plan.

(c) The employing unit shall supply each employee and the commissioner of revenue with an information return indicating the amount of the employer’s picked-up contributions for the calendar year that were not subject to withholding. This return must be provided to the employee not later than January 31 of the succeeding calendar year. The commissioner of revenue shall prescribe the form of the return and the provisions of section 289A.12 must apply to the extent not inconsistent with the provisions of this section.