(1) Participants in the hybrid plan shall be excluded from the noncontributory provisions of § 8-34-206 and shall be required to make employee contributions to the defined benefit component of the plan equal to five percent (5%) of the participant's earnable compensation.
(2) Each employer shall pick up the employee contributions required under this section. The contributions so picked up shall be treated as employer contributions pursuant to § 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 414(h)) in determining tax treatment under said Code. The employee shall not have the option of choosing to receive the contributions in the form of cash or cash equivalents instead of having them paid by the employer into the hybrid plan benefits trust account created pursuant to § 8-36-920.