There is hereby created the West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Retirement System. The purpose of this system is to provide for the orderly retirement of emergency medical services officers who become superannuated because of age or permanent disability and to provide certain survivor death benefits, and it is contemplated that substantially all of the members of the retirement system shall be qualified public safety employees as defined in section two of this article. The retirement system shall come into effect January 1, 2008: Provided, That at least seventy percent of all eligible emergency medical services officers and at least eighty-five percent of the eligible emergency medical services officers who are currently active members of the Public Employees Retirement System elect to participate in this plan by December 31, 2007. If this level of participation is not reached, then all of the provisions of this article are void and of no force and effect. All business of the system shall be transacted in the name of the West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Retirement System. The board shall specify and adopt all actuarial assumptions for the plan at its first meeting of every calendar year or as soon thereafter as may be practicable, which assumptions shall become part of the plan.