(1)(a)(i) Prior to October 1, 2025, each police officer shall contribute to the retirement system a sum equal to seven percent of his or her salary.

(ii) Beginning October 1, 2025, each police officer shall contribute to the retirement system a sum equal to nine percent of such police officer's salary.

(b) Such payment under subdivision (a) of this subsection shall be made by regular payroll deductions from the police officer's periodic salary and shall be credited to his or her employee account on a monthly basis.

(c) Each such account shall also be credited with regular interest.

(2)(a) Each city shall pick up the police officers' contributions required by subsection (1) of this section, and the contributions so picked up shall be treated as employer contributions in determining federal tax treatment under the Internal Revenue Code, except that the city shall continue to withhold federal income taxes based upon these contributions until the Internal Revenue Service or the federal courts rule that, pursuant to section 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code, these contributions shall not be included as gross income of the employee until such time as they are distributed from the retirement system.

(b) The city shall pay such employee contributions from the same source of funds that is used in paying earnings to the employee. The city shall pick up such contributions by a salary deduction through:

(i) A reduction in the cash salary of the employee; or

(ii) A combination of a reduction in salary and an offset against a future salary increase.

(c) A police officer shall not be given an option to choose to receive the amount of the required contribution in lieu of having such contribution paid directly to the retirement system.

(3) Each police officer shall be entitled to make voluntary cash contributions to the retirement system in an amount not to exceed the contribution limitations established by the Internal Revenue Code. Such voluntary contributions shall:

(a) Be credited to the police officer's employee account and shall thereafter be credited with regular interest; and

(b) Become a part of the Police Officers Retirement System Fund of the city and shall be held, administered, invested, and distributed in the same manner as any other employee contribution to the retirement system.