104.320.  Retirement system to be body corporate, to be known as Missouri state employees' retirement system — powers and duties — medical benefit funds. — 1.  For the purpose of providing retirement income and other benefits to employees of the state, there is hereby created and established a retirement system which shall be a body corporate and an instrumentality of the state, which shall be under the management of a board of trustees herein described, and shall be known as the "Missouri State Employees' Retirement System".  In the system shall be vested the powers and duties specified in sections 104.010 and 104.320 to 104.800 and such other powers as may be necessary or proper to enable it, its officers, employees, and agents to carry out fully and effectively all the purposes of sections 104.010 and 104.320 to 104.800.

  2.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the system is also authorized and empowered to provide services in connection with medical benefit funds established or maintained for state employees, retirees, and their dependents who are participants in a state medical plan administered by the Missouri consolidated health care^* plan established under section 103.005 or other medical benefit plans established or maintained by the state for its employees, retirees, and their dependents.  All such plans described in this section shall be welfare plans referred to as "State Medical Plans".  The services to be provided by the system shall include, but not be limited to, the investment of assets of such state medical plans.  Such services to be provided by the system shall be provided under a trust agreement between the board, as trustee, and the state medical plan, subject to approval by the board of trustees of the Missouri state employees' retirement system and the state medical plan.  The system shall be vested with the powers and duties specified in section 104.010 and sections 104.320 to 104.1093 and such other powers as may be necessary or proper to enable it, its officers, employees, and agents to carry out fully and effectively all the purposes of this subsection.  Whenever the system is acting under section 104.010 and sections 104.320 to 104.1093 with respect to services provided under this subsection, the provisions of such sections shall be read to apply to services provided under this subsection and not to services provided under subsection 1 of this section.

  3.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the board shall set up and maintain a separate employee and retiree medical benefit trust for each state medical plan that the system contracts with under subsection 2 of this section in which shall be placed contributions made to the board by the state of Missouri, either directly or indirectly through the medical benefit plan, to fund benefits payable under such state medical plan.  No such contributions made from the medical benefit plan's trust fund shall be transferred to the board without the approval of the medical benefit plan's governing body.  All property, money, funds, investments, and rights so received and accepted by the board together with proceeds and reinvestments thereof shall be dedicated to and held in a separate trust, known as the medical benefit trust, for the exclusive purpose of satisfying the obligations of the applicable state medical plan to pay health care and other medical benefits to employee and retiree participants and their dependents under such state medical plan.  At no time shall any part of a medical benefit trust be used for or diverted to any purpose other than for the exclusive purpose of satisfying the obligations of the applicable state medical plan to provide health care and other medical benefits to employee and retiree participants and their dependents, including payment of benefits on behalf of such participants under such state medical plan and payment of reasonable expenses of the medical benefit trust.  The board may establish one or more trust instruments that set forth the terms and conditions for holding, investing, and distributing assets of a medical benefit trust that are consistent with subsection 2 of this section.  Such medical benefit trust may be irrevocable.  A separate account for a state medical plan may be established under a separate trust instrument.  The board may consolidate the retiree assets of one or more medical benefit trusts in a single fund or funds, a "master trust", that may be commingled for investment purposes, and subject to the applicable trust agreement, may commingle the retiree assets of one or more medical benefit trusts with assets of the system for investment purposes.  In the event the board commingles assets of one or more trusts for investment purposes, it shall maintain separate bookkeeping accounts reflecting the separate share in each investment pool of each participating trust.  The board shall have power to purchase, acquire, hold, invest, lend, lease, sell, assign, transfer, and dispose of all property, rights, and securities and enter into written contracts and may employ or contract with third-party advisors all as may be necessary or proper to carry out the purposes of this subsection and subsection 2 of this section.  The board shall have the power to borrow money for any of the authorized purposes of the board and to issue negotiable notes, bonds, or other instruments in writing in evidence of the sum or sums to be borrowed.  Whenever the system is acting under section 104.010 and sections 104.320 to 104.1093 with respect to an account established under this subsection, the provisions of such sections shall be read to apply to an account provided under this subsection and not accounts established under subsection 1 of section 104.440.

  4.  The board shall make such payments from a medical benefit trust to or for the benefit of the participants in a state medical plan and their dependents, at such time, in such manner, in such amounts, in such form, and for such purposes as may be specified in one or more directives by the state medical plan administrator authorized to direct payment of benefits under such state medical plan from time to time or as provided in a trust agreement governing such medical benefit trust, and the board shall have no responsibility and shall be without liability for any payment made under such direction.  The board shall be under no duty or obligation to make any inquiry or investigation as to whether any direction is made under the provisions of any state medical plan and shall not be responsible in any respect for the administration of any state medical plan.  Payment in response to such direction shall be a complete discharge of the board of its responsibility for the holding and safekeeping of such assets and any assets paid over shall no longer constitute part of the medical benefit trust.

  5.  The board shall invest the funds of a medical benefit trust in the same manner as it invests funds of the retirement system as permitted by sections 105.686^** to 105.690.

  6.  The board may authorize the executive director to assist with programs and procedures pertaining to payroll for state employees and any state employee benefits as requested by the office of administration or other state agencies.