Retirement Specialist

City of Alexandria • Alexandria, VA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The City of Alexandria’s Finance Department is looking for a personable, collaborative, detail-oriented Retirement Specialist to join our team. As a member of the Pension Administration Division, the Retirement Specialist performs professional and administrative work in assisting employees, their beneficiaries, and retirees with benefit information. The employee in this class counsels employees, researches information on service credit and other eligibility issues, including calculations of various retirement estimates, prepares documents for submission to the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) and the City’s retirement plans, and provides staff support to the various retirement boards. This work is performed under the general supervision of the Retirement Administrator.

Requirements

• Four-Year College Degree
• three years of experience in retirement plan administration
• skill in the operation of a PC and software used for spreadsheets and database purposes
• skill in using internet base research tools
• ability to communicate effectively with individuals and groups, both verbally and in writing
• any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities

Nice To Haves

• Professional experience specifically in public sector retirement plan administration
• ability to develop and lead employee education programs related to retirement
• professional experience managing institutional investments
• advanced skill with Microsoft Excel (e.g. pivot tables, vlookup)
• a professional certification relevant to the field (e.g., CEBS, RPA, QPA, CPC)
• Five to six years of experience in retirement plan administration

Responsibilities

• Meets with and counsels prospective retirees and separating employees on available retirement options and coordinates proper preparation of required applications
• Calculates benefit estimates under Virginia Retirement System, City Supplemental Plan, and the Firefighters and Police Officers Pension Plan, to include the disability components of each plan
• Provides ongoing assistance as liaison between retirement vendors (Virginia Retirement System and Empower) and retirees and current employees
• Assists in administering the City’s 457 Deferred Compensation Plan
• Interprets laws, regulations, and policies and assists in the review and update of plan documents
• Verifies, enters, and reconciles information across multiple databases
• Prepares and conducts presentations, orientations, and workshops for City employees
• Prepares written information to help employees and retirees understand their benefits, to include updating the division website
• Schedules, tracks, and advertises City-wide financial education events
• Provides staff support for investment retirement boards
• Performs related work as required

Benefits

• The starting salary range for this position is $63,346.40 to $84,855.16 based on qualifications and experience.
• The incumbent can eventually be awarded up to $111,477.08 (top of the grade) with tenure and job performance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level