That portion of the salary or wages of a member deducted or to be deducted under this chapter, the right of a member to an annuity, pension, or retirement allowance hereunder, and all the member's rights in the assets of the Retirement System, shall be exempt from taxation, except income tax, and from the operation of any laws relating to bankruptcy or insolvency, and shall not be attached or taken upon execution or other process of any court. No assignment by a member of any part of the assets to which the member is or may be entitled, or of any right to or interest in those assets, shall be valid, except to the extent permitted by this chapter. (Added 1973, No. 251 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; amended 2007, No. 13, § 48.)