Payroll and Insurance Analyst

Job Summary

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.

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.   

Essential Functions

• 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. 
• Verify the information transmitted from the CMS Membership system to the CMS third-party administrator.  Seek corrective action on inaccurate data transmittals.
• 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.  
• 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.  
• 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.  

Essential Functions (Continued)

• Enter miscellaneous deductions into the TRS system and prepare stop payment orders on uncashed warrants through the Office of the Illinois Comptroller. 
• Prepare income verification letters and respond to requests for duplicate Earnings Statements and 1099R’s generated by the Office of the Illinois Comptroller.
• Review daily STAR Action and MS Phone Log reports.   Process updated information into the member record.  Assist with CMS generated MOBIUS reports as needed.  
• 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.
• Research obituary publications obtains death certificates, and process member and dependent deaths upon notice from CMS, CMS’ third-party administrator, or the insurance carrier.
• 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.
• Assist with reconciling payroll discrepancies between the Teachers' Retirement System and the Office of the Illinois Comptroller.
• Assist with manual record changes to department payroll records and payroll vouchers when needed.
• Assist with entering data on direct deposit forms and verifying that the data is accurately entered into the appropriate member's record.  
• Assist with COBRA enrollment and cancellations.  Generates COBRA enrollment packets and monthly billing statements, as needed.  
• Perform other duties as required or assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Ability to analyze and interpret data                                                                                                       
• Demonstrates a high commitment to quality                                                                                                       
• Demonstrated problem solving skills                                                                                                       
• Ability to troubleshoot and resolve problems
• Excellent organizational skills     

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in math, education, accounting, business, or a related degree. Candidates without a degree must possess four (4) years of progressive responsibility in a related business or education field.
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills and the ability to communicate effectively with co-workers and the public both verbally and through written correspondence.
• Preferred experience with pensions, benefits and or employee relations
• Critical skills required are analytical skills, computational skills, communication skills and interpersonal skills as well as the ability to utilize existing computer applications and interact effectively and diplomatically with members