Tennessee Code Title 8. Public Officers and Employees § 8-37-301

(a) The state accumulation fund shall be the fund in which shall be accumulated:

and from which shall be paid all costs of administering the retirement system, and all retirement allowances and other benefits payable under the retirement system other than those payable from the members' fund.

(b) The total amount payable to the state accumulation fund in each year on account of each member classification shall not be less than the sum of the normal contribution rate and the accrued liability contribution rate, multiplied by the total compensation earnable by all members in such classification for each year, plus the amount determined as the cost-of-living contribution.

(c) Until the completion of the first actuarial valuation, the normal contribution rate and the accrued liability contribution rate shall be set at such percentages of the earnable compensation of members as the actuary shall recommend and the board of trustees shall approve.

(d) The assets accumulated in the state accumulation fund on behalf of kindergarten through twelfth (K-12) grade teachers shall be used exclusively for the benefit of such teachers. The assets accumulated in the state accumulation fund on behalf of state employees, including the employees of public institutions of higher education, shall be used exclusively for the benefit of such employees.