(a) Teacher Deferred Retirement Option Plan deposits shall be a percentage of the plan benefit.
(b) If a plan participant has at least thirty (30) years of credited service in the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, including combined service with a reciprocal system, a plan deposit shall be calculated beginning with the participant's plan benefit and then reduced by one percent (1%) for each year of credited service, including fractions of a year.
(c)
(1) If a plan participant has at least twenty-eight (28) years of credited service but fewer than thirty (30) years of credited service in the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, including combined service with a reciprocal system, the Board of Trustees of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System may authorize early participation in the plan.
(2) The plan deposit of the early participant shall be calculated beginning with the plan benefit of the early participant, then initially reduced by one percent (1%) for each year of credited service, including fractions of a year, and then may be further reduced by at least an additional five-tenths of one percent (0.5%) but no more than one percent (1%) of the initially reduced plan deposit for each month of credited service under thirty (30) years.
(d) The Board of Trustees of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System is authorized to make further adjustments to the plan by board resolution to make it cost-neutral to the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System.