Benefits Specialist

Job Code: 21056 Salary Grade: 12 Salary Range: $42,553 - $68,510 FLSA: Nonexempt Department

• Risk Management The purpose of this classification is to process and resolve employee and retiree insurance and pension benefits issues and to perform payroll processing functions.

Essential Functions

The following duties are normal for this position. The omission of specific statements of the duties does not exclude them from the classification if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment for this classification. Other duties may be required and assigned. Processes and reports retiree payroll; processes pension, payroll interface, and general deductions; processes and terminates direct deposits and Automated Clearing House (ACH) reversals; processes tax data changes; and runs queries.

Runs periodic processing and queries; formats multiple general pension plan lists; updates maturity rate/calculation tables and spreadsheet; runs disability and beneficiary queries; updates and tracks employee’s amount of contributed earnings toward pension benefits; generates cash balance history of terminated employees; and finalizes refunds.

Enrolls new and returning employees in pension plan; determines eligibility based on established criteria; enters data into departmental database and payroll systems; calculates and resolves payroll issues; sets up vested terms; activates employees; performs benefits calculations; prepares required paperwork; reviews completed forms and documents for accuracy and completeness; and provides technical guidance regarding the individual benefits-related module for departmental databases.

Formats beneficiaries refund table and updates death audit systems; configures deceased employee’s beneficiaries for pension refund; calculates eligible refund amount; processes eligible benefits for beneficiaries; processes death audit protocols; and prepares related letters and correspondence. Calculates pension benefits for new retirees; formats payee data access and retiree job records; inputs health benefits records, direct deposit records, tax data, and general deductions; generates and manages beneficiaries table; formats a manual payment schedule; imports retiree interface file; identifies and corrects errors; schedules one-time adjustments; and sets up vested terms for payments.

Performs related work functions; participates in employee relations and various pension benefit initiatives; audits and verifies pension disability; processes 1099 requests; provides information and answers questions; and maintains complete and accurate personnel records and files regarding benefit programs. Participates in special projects as assigned; assists with testing for database upgrades, implementation of new pension reporting requirements, and online paycheck data; assists in developing new processes; participates in upgrades and improvements for database and software systems; and assists in developing and integrating tools to improve overall system efficiencies.

Minimum Qualifications

High school diploma or GED required, with vocational or technical training in business, human resources, accounting or related field required; two years of experience in processing employee benefits and pension issues; or any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience which provides the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities for this job.

Specific License or Certification Required: Must possess and maintain a valid Georgia driver’s license.