Administrative Officer II

State of Maryland•Baltimore City, MD

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Maryland State Retirement and Pension System (MSRPS) administers benefits for over 397,000 members, including active employees, retirees, and vested participants across 12 retirement systems. Located in Baltimore’s Central Business District, MSRPS offers a purpose-driven workplace with modern amenities, including panoramic city and harbor views, renovated common areas, upgraded elevators, and an on-site café. Employees enjoy comprehensive state benefits including; medical, dental, prescription coverage, generous paid leave, participation in the state pension system, and supplemental retirement savings options (401(k), 457(b), and more). Additional perks include an on-site fitness center with showers and lockers, 24/7 building security, and easy access to restaurants, shops, public transit, and major highways. This position is designated as telework-eligible under the State of Maryland’s Telework Policy, after successfully completing the defined required training period. This position is assigned to the Retirement Processing section and reports to the Estimate Team Supervisor. The Retirement Processing section handles requests for estimates of retirement benefits, applications for retirement applications, and salary audit cases in our Customer Relationship Management software (CRM). Each account is audited prior to processing the retirement estimate and the final retirement application. The position requires critical thinking skills and the ability to use independent judgment in their daily responsibilities of calculating and approving the lifetime benefit for a retiree or beneficiary. The incumbent should also obtain and maintain an understanding of retirement law and the Code of Maryland Regulations as it applies to each estimate and final retirement application. The main purpose of this position is to review, evaluate and process the retirement estimates, retirement applications and salary audit cases from the members of any of the several systems. This position is responsible for maintaining a solid knowledge level relating to retirement law, regulations, policies and procedures that impact the processing of the requests by the Team. The incumbent uses independent judgement to apply Agency policies and procedures and makes recommendations to the Team lead on procedural and process improvements to ensure the Agency meets its goals. The incumbent works with the lead worker to periodically review and suggest modification to standard operating procedures, checklists, worksheets, and job aides as necessary. This position facilitates the processing of retirement estimate requests and retirement applications by either preparing a Retirement Allowance Worksheet or approving the Retirement Allowance Worksheet that has already been prepared by another member within the Team. Salary audit cases require research and possible employer contact for flagged salaries. The incumbent, based on reviews of retirement payrolls and salary data, make recommendations to the lead worker for solutions to complex retirement payroll situations. This position may also be responsible for reviewing incoming retirement estimate requests and retirement applications from members to determine if they are properly completed. If a request or application cannot be accepted because it is improperly completed or missing required related forms and documentation, this position communicates with the member and/or employer via written correspondence or email to explain the issue and how to resolve it. For requests that are accepted this position may enter the required data into an Access database to allow for tracking of the request through the Team, and for batching completed Retirement Allowance Worksheets for data entry and processing.

Requirements

Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of a high school equivalency certificate.
Two years of administrative staff or professional work.
Candidates may substitute 30 credit hours from an accredited college or university for one year of the required experience.
Candidates may substitute the possession of a Bachelor's degree from a college or university for the required experience.
Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a commissioned officer involving staff work that included regular use of independent judgment and analysis in applying and interpreting complex administrative plans, policies, rules or regulations or analysis of operational programs or procedures with recommendations for improvement on a year-for-year basis for the required experience.

Nice To Haves

At least one year of demonstrated experience working with Microsoft Office software, including Word, Outlook, and Excel.
At least one year of experience reviewing and processing incoming applications, including eligibility for benefits (e.g. retirement, insurance, health, etc.).

Responsibilities

Prepare and/or review, analyze and process retirement estimate and retirement application requests from members in accordance with established procedures.
After conducting an audit of the member’s account to determine proper service credit and employee contributions (including the calculation of projected service and contributions and interest to date of retirement), determining eligibility for retirement and after calculating the average final compensation, these data elements are entered into an Agency approved worksheets.
Review salary audit cases from CRM in accordance with established procedures. This may also involve contacting employers to determine correct salaries and initiating adjustments in the AFC application.
Review incoming retirement estimates requests and retirement applications for completeness and retirement eligibility; draft correspondence rejecting incomplete or deficient retirement estimate requests or retirement applications; research member account information in MPAS and create file with data from MPAS (copy of member’s active account (PRIB); copy of older forms not available on Folder Inquiry (PRMX); copy of requests to purchase service credit (PRCC); and copies of historical records of hours worked, salary reported and member contributions paid (PRFF)); review and approve pending adjustments in MPAS to verify that service and eligibility credit is correct on the active member file (PRIB) before batching the estimate/retirement applications; update and maintain Access Retirement Estimate and Final databases.
Review, verify, and submit transactions in a timely manner to update retirement master file with non-release flag in accordance with established procedures.
Special projects as assigned by the Retirement Processing Manager, Deputy Director, or Director.
Performs other duties as assigned.

Benefits

medical
dental
prescription coverage
generous paid leave
participation in the state pension system
supplemental retirement savings options (401(k), 457(b), and more)
on-site fitness center with showers and lockers
24/7 building security
easy access to restaurants, shops, public transit, and major highways
Personal Leave - new State employees are awarded six (6) personnel days annually (prorated based on start date).
Annual Leave - ten (10) days of accumulated annual leave per year.
Sick Leave - fifteen (15) days of accumulated sick leave per year.
Holidays - State employees also celebrate at least thirteen (13) holidays per year.
Pension - State employees earn credit towards a retirement pension.