(1) A retiree who is a participant in an employee group insurance plan that permits participation in the group plan following retirement may elect to have the monthly premium for group insurance withheld by the retirement system and paid directly by the system to the sponsoring employer. In order to qualify for this withholding, a retiree must be a participant in a group insurance plan available to the employees of the former employer. Withholding may not be made for any retiree covered by an individual insurance policy.
(2) Following the death of a retiree who elected withholding of premiums under subsection (1), the retiree's contingent annuitant may elect to have the contingent annuitant's monthly premium for group insurance withheld by the retirement system and paid directly by the system to the sponsoring employer. In order to qualify for this withholding, the contingent annuitant must be covered by the same group insurance plan that covered the retiree in accordance with subsection (1).