Associate Retirement Benefits Examiner, Level 3

Nyc-Employees-Retirement-Sys; New York (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

NYCERS seeks two Associate Retirement Benefits Examiners, Level 3, within the Retirement Calculations and Estimated Benefits units of the Retirement & Pension Benefits division. One individual will serve as supervisor.

The roles demand strong analytical skills, leadership, and deep knowledge of retirement benefit calculations. Ideal candidates hold a relevant bachelor’s degree and have experience with complex benefit computations, reporting, and stakeholder communication.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mathematics, statistics, accounting, economics, finance, data analytics, project management, business administration, public administration and/or actuarial science.
• Two years of satisfactory full-time analytical, administrative or customer service experience within a financial institution, retirement system, or pension with related tasks.
• One year of satisfactory full-time experience performing mathematical, statistical, actuarial, or accounting computations in retirement or customer service contexts.
• Additional combinations of education and experience may be substituted per guidelines; a four-year high school diploma is required as baseline.
• Proficiency in applying laws, rules and regulations and handling complex retirement benefit cases.

Responsibilities

• Lead, supervise and motivate a team; foster collaboration and develop employee skills.
• Handle complex retirement benefit cases including estimated and vested benefits.
• Establish unit goals, monitor production, and review decisions for sound outcomes.
• Conduct regular unit meetings; draft emails and manage workflow, training, and evaluations.
• Coordinate with pensioners and external agencies; manage CRM tasks and service retirement workflows.

Skills

Analytical skills

Prioritization

MS Word

Excel

Education

Bachelor degree in math/stats/finance/actuarial science

Tools

MS Word

Excel

Job description

The New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) is recruiting for (2) two Associate Retirement Benefits Examiner, Level 3 in the Retirement Calculations unit and the Estimated Benefits unit within the Retirement & Pension Benefits division. Each unit is seeking to identify one individual who will serve as the designated supervisor.

Key Responsibilities

1. Team Leadership & Collaboration
   • Ability to lead, supervise and motivate a team.
   • Foster collaboration and contribute ideas to strengthen employee skills.
   • Address subordinate behavior with excellent interpersonal skills.
2. Retirement Benefit SME
   • Keen understanding of retirement cycle and can handle complex cases of all types, included but not limited to Estimated and Vested Benefits requests.
   • Anticipate work-unit needs and allocate resources to meet goals.
3. Organizational & Analytical Skills
   • Establish goals and objectives for the unit.
   • Monitor and develop reports to measure individual and unit production.
   • Review facts, evaluate situations, and make sound decisions.
4. Administrative Responsibilities
   • Conduct regular unit meetings.
   • Draft email correspondence to internal units, other divisions, and external parties.
   • Update spreadsheets and monitor workflow assignments.
   • Oversee training, schedules, leave requests, and employee performance evaluations.

________________________________________

• Monitoring & Reporting: Use digital dashboards and automated reporting tools to track unit production and individual performance. This ensures transparency and timely feedback.
• Resource Allocation: Regularly review workload distribution and adjust assignments based on unit needs and employee strengths.
• Communication: Establish clear channels for internal and external correspondence. Templates for emails and meeting agendas can streamline administrative tasks.
• Employee Development: Schedule periodic check-ins to discuss performance, provide constructive feedback, and identify opportunities for growth.
• Unit liaison: Communicate and obtain information from/to pensioners, other city and state agencies, NYCERS' work units, and/or other retirement systems. Review and maintain daily unit issues & productivity. Delegate tasks and responsibilities to team leads, monitor NYCEPAS work queues, ensure CRM tasks completed, monitor workflow of service retirement, disability and death cases through to finalization.

ASSOCIATE RETIREMENT BENEFITS - 40493

Minimum Qualifications

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college in mathematics, statistics, accounting, economics, finance, data analytics, project management, business administration, public administration and/or actuarial science.
2. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and:
   • a) Two years of satisfactory full-time experience performing analytical, administrative or customer service work within a financial institution, retirement system, or pension performing one or more of the following: financial account management, resolving complex financial inquiries, or ensuring compliance with regulatory standards; or
   • b) One year of satisfactory full-time experience performing mathematical, statistical, actuarial, or accounting computations in one or more of the following:
     • i) a retirement or employee benefits plan; and/or
     • ii) for customer service in a financial institution; and/or
     • iii) in a position requiring the application of law, rules, and regulations and the use of statistical, actuarial, or similar tables.
3. An associate degree or completion of 60 semester credits from an accredited college and either three years of experience as described in “2(a)” above, or two years of experience as indicated in "2(b)" above
4. An associate degree or completion of 60 semester credits from an accredited college, including or supplemented by 9 semester credits in mathematics, statistics, accounting, economics, finance, data analytics, project management, business administration, public administration and/or actuarial science and two years of experience as described in “2(a)” above, or one year of experience as indicated in 2(b) above
5. A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent and either four years of experience as described in “2(a)” above, or three years of experience as indicated in "2(b)"
6. A satisfactory combination of education and/or experience equivalent to "1", “2’, "3", “4", or “5” to the above. College education may be substituted for the experience described above on the basis that:
   • a) Fifteen semester credits from an accredited college including at least three semester credits in the areas described in “4” above may be substituted for six months of the required work experience.
   • b) Thirty semester credits from an accredited college may be substituted for six months of the required work experience.
   • c) However, all candidates must have a four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent and either a baccalaureate degree as described in “1” above, or at least two years of experience as described in “2 (a)” above, or one year of experience as described in “2 (b)” above.

Preferred Skills

• Candidates must have strong analytical skills and the ability to prioritize tasks.
• Capable of working in a high volume and fast-paced environment and able to meet strict deadlines.
• Written and oral communication skills should be proficient, clear and on a professional level.
• Knowledgeable about pension calculations including compensation base, service summaries and required contributions for the different plans and tiers.
• Proficiency in MS Word and Excel is required.

55a Program

This position is also open to qualified persons with a disability who are eligible for the 55-a Program. Please indicate at the top of your resume and cover letter that you would like to be considered for the position through the 55-a Program.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website