Benefits Technician - San Francisco Employees' Retirement System : Job Details

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.The San Francisco Employees' Retirement System (SFERS) is dedicated to securing, protecting, and prudently investing the pension trust assets, administering mandated benefits programs, and providing promised benefits to the active and retired members of the City and County of San Francisco.Established in 1889 as a fund for families and orphans of firefighters and police officers, today the San Francisco Employees' Retirement System serves more than 75,000 active, vested, and retired employees of the City and County of San Francisco and their survivors.What We DoThe Retirement Services Division plays a crucial role in administering retirement benefits for both active and retired employees as well as their beneficiaries. Staff provide comprehensive retirement counseling services to guide individuals through their retirement planning journey and process various benefit applications, including service and disability retirements, survivor benefits, vesting allowances, refunds, reciprocity, and the purchase of service credit. The Retirement Services Division also manages the disbursement of approximately $150 million in monthly benefit payments to around 32,100 retirees and beneficiaries, ensuring timely and accurate payments.This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A.Application Opening: May 2, 2024Application Deadline: May close at any time, but not before May 8, 2024.Reporting Location: 1145 Market Street, San Francisco, CAWork Schedule: Full time, Monday - Friday, Hybrid Telecommuting work schedule available up to 2 days per week.What We're Looking ForUnder supervision of a Senior Benefits Analyst or Benefits Supervisor, the Benefits Technician at SFERS performs technical, administrative, and research functions related to retirement benefit matters. SFERS routinely reassigns employees in this job class to different units within the Retirement Services Division to provide cross-training opportunities and to fulfill the current needs of the department.Examples of primary duties may include:Provides support services to analysts, senior analysts, and benefits supervisors in processing benefit entitlements.Provides general information to City employees regarding retirement benefits by answering the telephone and responding to general questions regarding benefits, eligibility, memberships, etc.Researches records and accounts for prior membership, account discrepancies, requested information, buybacks, withdrawal status, payment history, overpayments, underpayments, and adjustments in database; checks potential members' service dates for eligibility and provides information regarding annual statements and tax form 1099R for the Retirement System; reconciles member accounts based on a variety of discrepancy reports; researches prior service history and salary figures using microfiche, data files, and other sources.Processes a variety of membership forms and other types of forms such as personnel transaction forms for employee status changes; and change of beneficiary forms for active and retired members.Performs various calculations to support the determination of retirement benefits. Retirement calculations include years of service, update of balance shortages, closeouts, and final account balances.Processes refund of terminated member's contributions and interest.Sets up retired member's estimated benefits in PeopleSoft - Pension Administration System.Enters monthly retirement payments on excel spreadsheet and reconciles monthly change roll.Communicates with employees, retirees, dependents, beneficiaries, human resources, City payroll personnel, representatives from outside agencies, and other professionals to resolve routine problems, and provides general information regarding benefits and benefit payments.Updates addresses, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) changes and tax withholdings for retired members in the system.Completes standard form letters, and maintains reports and records; prepares routine correspondence to respond to active and retired members' requests; requests additional information and documentation when needed; sends notifications of eligibility for membership in the Retirement System; prepares monthly new retirees list and sends new retiree letters.Acts as a verifier to check work performed by other Benefits Technicians.Staffs Retirement Services reception desk by booking appointments, receiving visitors, and answering general retirement related questions in person or on the telephone.Performs other related duties as assigned/required.How to qualifyEducationCompletion of two (2) years of college-level course work.SubstitutionVerifiable clerical or technical experience administering employee benefits programs including: researching records, claims adjudication, database maintenance, reviewing forms, performing calculations, and responding to general inquiries may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis. Thirty (30) semester units/forty-five (45) quarter units equal one year of experience.How to Stand OutDesirable Qualifications:Two or more years of verifiable experience working with a private or public defined benefit plan or defined contribution plan.Possession of a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, or other related field.Extensive customer service experience.Strong oral and written communication skills.A minimum of one year working knowledge of Oracle PeopleSoft.A minimum of one year working knowledge of Microsoft Office using mail merge, and Microsoft Excel creating formulas and links between cells on the same or different worksheets.VerificationApplicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process.Note: Falsifying one's education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.All work experience, education, training, and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification, or may lead to lower scores.SELECTION PROCEDURESAfter application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which include the following:Candidates will be prompted to complete a Supplemental Questionnaire as part of the online employment application. This Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications for this position. Applicants must also complete the official application. It is essential that applicants provide complete information in identifying their education, experience and training. The Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire will be used to evaluate if the applicant possesses the required minimum qualifications.Candidates who meet the position's minimum qualification requirements will be invited to participate in a written examination to determine their relative knowledge, skills, and abilities in job-related areas which may include, but are not limited to: technical knowledge of employee benefit programs; ability to perform accurate benefits calculations; ability to research; computer skills; and problem solving ability.Only those applicants meeting the minimum qualifications will be notified of the exact date, time, and place to report to the written examination. A passing score must be achieved on the written examination in order to be placed/ranked on the Eligible List.Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed to advance through all of the steps in the selection process. The department may administer additional selection procedures upon certification in order to make a final hiring decision.What else should I know?Eligible List/Score ReportA confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created, and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates.The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be six months, and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.CertificationThe certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be Rule of Three. Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.Terms of Announcement and Appeal RightsApplicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. Clerical errors may be corrected by the posting the correction on the Department of Human Resources website.Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process.Select the Apply Now  button and follow instructions on the screen.Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date.Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst, James Galileo, at [email protected] your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.#J-18808-Ljbffr