Section 3.04 - Deferred Compensation Program(1) The state treasurer, on behalf of the commonwealth, may contract with an employee to defer a portion of that employee-scompensation and may, for the purposes of funding a deferred compensation program for said employee, established in accordance with the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, invest the deferred portion of the employee's income in a life insurance or annuity contract, mutual fund, or a bank investment trust.(2) The treasurer shall solicit bids from insurance companies authorized to do business within the commonwealth, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 175, mutualfund managers and banks, before investing deferred compensation.(3) Any bid submitted by an insurance company, mutual fund, or bank investment trust seeking investment or the IRA contribution shall, where applicable, clearly indicate the interest rate which shall be paid on the invested funds, any commissions which will be paid to the salesmen, any load imposed for the purpose of administering the funds, expected payouts, tax implications for participating employees and such other information as the treasurer may require.(4) The deferred compensation program shall be in addition to, and not a part of, the retirement program or pension system under M.G.L. c. 32. Compensation deferred under this program shall continue to be included as regular compensation for the purposes of computing retirement and pension benefits, but shall not be included in the computation of any taxes withheld on behalf of the employee.(5) At the request of the state treasurer, the state auditor or an independent auditing firm chosen by the state treasurer may perform an audit of the accounts of the deferred compensation program for any fiscal or calendar year selected by the said treasurer.(6) The treasurer may select and contract with a natural person or persons or a company to coordinate the deferred compensation program (called the Plan Coordinator). Said plan coordinator shall be selected in accordance with the public bidding laws and shall meet with the Oversight Committee on a regular basis, and shall advise said committee regarding the day-to-day operations of the deferred compensation program.(7) All amounts deducted from employees salary or wages will be forwarded to a custodian bank and placed in a lockbox. The plancoordinator is responsible for the allocation of said funds to the proper bank, mutual fund or insurance company for investment and/or purchase of mutual fund shares or fixed or variable annuities or life insurance contracts in accordance with the employee-participant requests for disposition of funds and products offered under the plan.