1. Any municipality, county, or an authority created by one or more counties or municipalities (hereinafter “employer”) may establish a deferred compensation plan (hereinafter “plan”), and a sponsoring agency, pursuant to P.L.1997, c.388 (C. 40A:14-183 et al.), may establish a length of service award program based on such plan, whereby the employer may enter into a written agreement with any of its employees (hereinafter “participants”) constituting a contract for a voluntary deferral of salary. Such contract shall remain in effect until the employee’s service is terminated or until a new contract is executed by the employee and employer. Not more than one contract shall be executed in any one fiscal year of the employer with any one employee. Pursuant to such contract the employer shall credit from time to time a specific amount per pay period, as deferred salary, to a participant’s account. This account shall be known as the Employee’s Deferred Salary Account, and shall be credited from time to time to reflect gains realized on the investment of the moneys in the deferred salary account. An accounting summary of the individual deferred salary accounts of all employee participants shall be maintained to reflect the employer’s total deferred liability under the plan and the individual balances of all participants. Any employer which establishes such a plan shall designate one or a group of its public officials, or the county’s or municipality’s governing body, as defined in N.J.S. 40A:4-2 of the Local Budget Law, or an authority’s governing body, as the case may be, as the named fiduciary responsible for the administration of said plan and investment of and accounting for the funds maintained thereunder.

L.1977,c.381,s.1; amended 1983, c.305, s.2; 1997, c.388, s.15.