Job Posting

The primary responsibility of this position is to perform basic accounting and administrative functions associated with the enrollment of TRS annuitants and beneficiaries in the Teachers’ Retirement Insurance Plan or the State of Illinois Group Plan and to assist in the monthly processing of the annuitant payroll including entry and balancing functions. 

Education Requirements:

An Associate’s degree in accounting, math, business administration or a related field is preferred.

Experience:

Requires two years of responsible experience with duties that include business mathematics, fundamental accounting practices, or customer service. Applicants with an associate’s degree are required to have only one year of experience.

Summary of Duties and Responsibilities:

This position performs various data entry tasks associated with annuitant and beneficiary insurance enrollment and payroll. The incumbent counsels annuitants by responding to phone calls, emails and written correspondence. In addition, the incumbent prepares individualized member statements, processes miscellaneous payroll deductions and updates membership records based on payroll and insurance reports.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

The incumbent must possess a working knowledge of the statutory benefits structure of TRS, the statutes governing the Teachers’ Retirement Insurance Program and the State Employees Group Insurance Program, including their relationship to the total TRS benefits structure. The incumbent must have basic accounting skills and must be knowledgeable of the TRS automated accounting system. Close attention to detail, excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to prioritize work to meet assigned deadlines is required. In addition, the incumbent must be able to analyze relative data, make logical decisions and act upon them.

Selection Criteria:

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

The ability to organize ideas and speak in a clear, concise and positive manner; also, the ability to demonstrate good listening skills including the ability to receive, attend to, interpret and respond to verbal messages and non-verbal cues when conversing with others.  In addition, the position requires the ability to compose and edit specified documents in a clear, concise and well-structured manner.

COMPUTATIONAL SKILLS

The ability to select the appropriate calculation (or formula) to solve a specific problem; and, the ability to accurately derive an answer by using mathematical calculations.

COMPUTER SKILLS

The ability to effectively use specified hardware and software to complete assigned tasks.

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Interacts with others in a positive, open and cooperative manner. 

JOB KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

Has completed specified amount of time previously performing essential elements of a job; possesses a body of information or level of understanding necessary to complete assigned responsibilities.

ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS

Ability to identify methods for performing tasks and the ability to arrange work in a logical sequence to assure efficiency and minimize the incidence of errors or omissions.

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Job Description

Purpose:

Under the supervision of the Payroll and Insurance Manager, the Payroll/Insurance Analyst is responsible for basic accounting and administrative support functions. This position requires timely processing of various annuitant and survivor group insurance and payroll forms directly into the TRS system, the CMS Membership system, and the CMS third-party administrator’s system. This position is responsible for or assists with functions pertaining to mid-month and monthly annuitant payroll. In addition, this position is required to respond to member inquiries, draft written correspondence, research and respond to member address discrepancies, obtain annuitant and beneficiary death records, and update membership records based on various payroll and insurance reports.

Nature and Scope:

The incumbent performs various data entry tasks associated with annuitant and beneficiary insurance enrollment and payroll. The incumbent counsels annuitants by responding to phone calls, emails, and written correspondence. The incumbent prepares individualized member statements, processes miscellaneous payroll deductions, and updates membership records based on payroll and insurance reports.

The incumbent must have a working knowledge of the statutory benefits structure of TRS, the statutes governing the Teachers' Retirement Insurance Program and the State Employees Group Insurance Program, including their relationship to the total TRS benefits structure. The incumbent must have basic accounting skills and must be knowledgeable of the TRS automated accounting system.  The incumbent must be able to pay attention to detail, possess excellent written and oral communication skills, and prioritize work to meet assigned deadlines.  In addition, the individual must be able to analyze relative data, make logical decisions, and act upon them. 

The greatest challenge of this position is to respond to various assignments that require prompt and accurate responses in order to successfully meet deadlines while working within multiple systems.   

Principal Accountabilities:

1. Provide administrative and accounting support to the Payroll and Insurance Department including, but not limited to reviewing incoming mail, determining eligibility for insurance, determining the effective date of insurance coverage, and processing eligible TRIP Participation Election forms into the TRS system and the CMS Membership system. Generate letters requesting additional information when incomplete insurance and payroll forms are received. 
2. Verify the information transmitted from the CMS Membership system to the CMS third-party administrator. Seek corrective action on inaccurate data transmittals.
3. Maintain a working knowledge of Laserfiche.  Responsible for moving workflow items into the appropriate Analyst’s work bin and verifying that all work items are scanned into the appropriate member record. Alert other Payroll and Insurance Analysts if a document is in a wrong member record.  
4. Research and respond to telephone calls, emails, faxes, internal inquires, and written correspondence. May be required to prepare individualized letters and responses for the Payroll and Insurance Manager’s signature.  
5. Counsel annuitants and beneficiaries on insurance benefits, insurance plan options, insurance enrollment, insurance coverage, insurance premiums, monthly pension payments, post retirement increases, withholding amounts, and payroll adjustments.  
6. Enter miscellaneous deductions into the TRS system and prepare stop payment orders on uncashed warrants through the Office of the Illinois Comptroller. 
7. Prepare income verification letters and respond to requests for duplicate Earnings Statements and 1099R’s generated by the Office of the Illinois Comptroller.
8. Review daily STAR Action and MS Phone Log reports. Process updated information into the member record.  Assist with CMS generated MOBIUS reports as needed.  
9. Research member addresses in response to returned mail. Enter new address information into the TRS system and the CMS Membership system.  Generate foreign address letters as needed.
10. Research obituary publications obtains death certificates, and process member and dependent deaths upon notice from CMS, CMS’ third-party administrator, or the insurance carrier.
11. Assist with verifying the direct pay of insurance premium bills for those whose annuity benefit is insufficient to cover the cost of the insurance and for school districts who have agreed to pay the cost of the annuitant's insurance premiums. May be required to send employer pay contracts to school districts.
12. Assist with reconciling payroll discrepancies between the Teachers' Retirement System and the Office of the Illinois Comptroller.
13. Assist with manual record changes to department payroll records and payroll vouchers when needed.
14. Assist with entering data on direct deposit forms and verifying that the data is accurately entered into the appropriate member's record.  
15. Assist with COBRA enrollment and cancellations. Generates COBRA enrollment packets and monthly billing statements, as needed.  
16. Perform other duties as required or assigned.