"Benefits Consultant"

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Consult with employees, management, departments, governing bodies, vendors, and others regarding employee benefits and services provided, with a focus on administration of retirements, separations, other assigned program administration, and team functions.

This position must work with more than 4,000 faculty and staff, as well as temporary employees, to provide eligibility benefits.

Serve as lead benefits consultant for retirement plans:

• Conduct consultations (early, mid, end career) regarding options, eligibility, and steps to retire from Teachers' State Employees' Retirement System (TSERS); Optional Retirement Plan (ORP); Phased Retirement
• Consult employees on supplemental retirement plans (contribution limits and plan rules, enrollment/changes/cancellations, and leave payout deferrals)
• Enter and monitor retirement transactions
• Responsible for monitoring contributions to prevent and address any compliance issues
• Generate pension spiking calculations and report for TSERS participants
• Calculate and process special separation allowances for eligible law enforcement
• Assist former retirees

Serve as lead benefits consultant for off-boarding:

• Employee Benefit Separations:
  • Review reports and email communications to ensure all separations are captured for benefits actions needed
  • Enter and monitor transactions for benefits platforms and deductions
  • Send collection letters and complete exception requests when necessary
• Reduction in Force (RIF):
  • Request Discontinuation Service Retirement (DSR) for TSERS participants, based on eligibility
  • Create the discussion guide for each employee
  • Consult employees on benefits options/impacts
  • Enter and monitor transactions for benefits platforms and deductions

Complete actions for portals/notifications:

• Benefit portal cases/tickets (eBenefits and Empyrean)
• TSERS (reconciliations, errors, plan inquiries, rehire retiree report)
• ORP: (vendor platform action items, entries in UNC System ORP database)
• Supplemental Retirement (vendor platform action items, and payroll file load)

Other essential duties:

• Calculate Longevity Pay
• Consult employees and adjust deductions in response to NC Flex Dependent Day Care discrimination testing results
• Track Personal Leave offers/responses and coordinate system entries
• Assist with benefits education/events (logistics, coordination, website updates, and communications)
• Create/update and conduct benefits presentations, such as retirement planning, orientations, and annual/special enrollments
• Provide backup support: (onboarding, prior service, qualifying life events, benefit platform tasks, payroll file loads)
• Responsible for process documentation/improvements, and other duties as assigned

Minimum Experience / Education:

• Related Bachelor's degree and three years of HR benefits experience; or equivalent combination of training and experience (degrees must be from appropriately accredited institutions).
• Advanced Excel Skills
• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and verbally to a diverse workforce

Preferred Education Skills and Experience:

• Benefits administration experience, to include retirement consultation
• State benefits experience a plus
• Ability to gather data, compile information, and prepare reports
• Ability to deliver effective presentations to large and small audiences