Retirement Specialist I - Schools Processing

State of Nebraska•Lincoln, NE

10d•$18•Onsite

About The Position

On the NPERS Schools Team, we thrive by combining the vision of our new hires who offer fresh perspectives and innovative thinking with the foundational support of our long-term employees’ experience and expertise. If you are passionate about finding long-term success on a diverse team, YOU could be our next great collaborator! NPERS values our employees and a supportive environment which strives to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We recruit, hire, train, and promote in all job classifications and at all levels without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, marital status, or genetics. Under general supervision, the NPERS Schools Team Retirement Specialist I position processes annuity distributions, including calculating and auditing annuity benefits; functions collaboratively to problem-solve with their teammates and manager; investigates and reconciles member accounts by reviewing and analyzing documents, records, contributions, and payment history; prepares written correspondence to members and reporting agents, as well as contacting members and reporting agents by phone, as needed; and performs related work as assigned. Please note, this Retirement Specialist I position is in the NPERS Benefits Department, not the NPERS Member Services (call center) Department. Hiring rate: $17.716 per hour We want you to feel valued at NPERS and we offer our employees great benefits! During your first year here at NPERS, you’ll receive: • 13 paid holidays • Vacation and sick leave which starts accruing immediately • Retirement contributions matched at 156% (WOW!) • Tuition Reimbursement • Employee Assistance Program (EAP) • Employer health insurance plans paid at 79% • Student loans? We are a qualifying employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). • Dental and vision insurance plans • A wide variety and availability of career advancement as the largest and most diverse employer in Nebraska • Training and development based on your career aspirations • A safe and secure environment Please see the Benefits link for more information on benefits offered to State of Nebraska employees. To learn more about NPERS, please visit our website at npers.ne.gov. Work Location: This position works in the office located at 1526 K Street, Suite 400, Lincoln, NE 68508.

Requirements

One or more years of coursework, training and/or experience in office support/secretarial support functions including typing duties and one years experience as a Retirement Specialist Trainee or working in a similar capacity calculating benefits and providing customer service to benefit recipients about retirement plan guidelines.
Desire and curiosity to learn as an individual and as part of a team.
Possess effective oral and written communication skills.
Willingness to help create or update procedures during training and as part of our team.
Maintain and ensure the confidentiality and security of sensitive information.
Strong ability to accurately and independently research, analyze, and draw logical conclusions from written and numerical data.
Ability to operate office equipment, understand and apply instructions, and file and retrieve records.
Knowledge and experience with Excel and Word (Microsoft Office Suite products).
Ability to learn and apply new technical knowledge as required.
Knowledge of office procedures; basic math calculations; English grammar, spelling, punctuation, and composition for purposes of recognizing and correcting errors in correspondence.
Ability to have regular and punctual attendance to support deadline driven processing.
Fosters and facilitates communication through cooperation, empathy, trust building, and respect when communicating with members, employers, and teammates.
Ability to interact, communicate, and engage with diverse people and create positive and productive internal and external relationships.
Remain adaptive and flexible to changing work priorities.
Displays a high level of initiative, effort, attention to detail, and commitment by completing assignments efficiently with general supervision.

Nice To Haves

Graduation from high school or its equivalent and two years of clerical office service, customer service, accounting, insurance, retirement, or closely related experience.
Experience processing retirement plan annuities, refunds, and/or other financial distribution processing is a plus.
Experience composing and/or proofing-reading business correspondence, or other related written material.

Responsibilities

Evaluating, processing, and maintaining regular retirements in the School plan.
Preparing benefit estimates, validating applications, preparing extractions of service credit, wages, and contributions, calculating preliminary and final benefit calculations, and auditing calculations of your teammates.
Requesting information and responding to questions from plan employers and members, when necessary, via written and verbal communication.
Researching, evaluating, and identifying data needed for the consistent application of retirement benefits, including, but not limited to, verifying contractual data, verifying service credit and salary information utilizing computer applications, reviewing employer reports, and identifying additional materials needed to process a benefit.
Calculating purchase of service and Military service.
Finalizing QDRO (court ordered) judgements, by calculating estimates and splitting accounts for the parties involved.
Processing Disability retirements and handling sensitive medical information.
Responding to employers and/or member inquiries regarding plan laws, rules and regulations, agency policies and procedures, and pending legislation via written correspondence, email, phone, and fax.
Additional duties related to retirement processes may be assigned, including processing for our Judges and Patrol Plans.

Benefits

13 paid holidays
Vacation and sick leave which starts accruing immediately
Retirement contributions matched at 156% (WOW!)
Tuition Reimbursement
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Employer health insurance plans paid at 79%
Student loans? We are a qualifying employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF).
Dental and vision insurance plans
A wide variety and availability of career advancement as the largest and most diverse employer in Nebraska
Training and development based on your career aspirations
A safe and secure environment