Senior Retirement Benefits Consultant

Liberty Mutual; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co. is seeking a Sr. Retirement Consultant to oversee U.S.

retirement program operations, including defined contribution and defined benefit plans. The role partners with vendors, actuaries, and internal teams to ensure compliant and efficient plan administration and prepares for Retirement and Investment Committee discussions. Located around Boston, MA, and other locations, this role supports risk-oriented improvements and governance for retirement initiatives

Responsibilities

• Lead operational oversight of retirement plans, ensuring effective execution of recurring activities, compliance requirements, controls, deadlines, and annual deliverables.
• Oversee retirement plan compliance and testing, including nondiscrimination and coverage testing, contribution and compensation limits, regulatory filings, and other annual requirements.
• Ensure plans, programs, and processes comply with ERISA and IRS requirements across benefits disciplines.
• Monitor developments such as SECURE 2.0 and IRS/DOL guidance and assess impact on operations and communications.
• Lead resolution of complex issues, participant claims, and plan corrections with root-cause analysis and corrective action.
• Oversee data integrity and operational controls, using analytics to identify trends and risks, coordinating with Payroll, IT, and vendors.

Job description

Candidates who live within 50 miles of Boston, MA; Portsmouth, NH; Seattle, WA; Indianapolis, IN; Columbus, OH; or Plano, TX will follow a hybrid schedule, coming into the office two days per week. Otherwise, this role is remote.

Position Summary

Liberty Mutual's Total Rewards Benefits team is seeking a Sr. Retirement Consultant to provide operational oversight of the company's retirement programs, with primary responsibility for U.S. defined contribution and defined benefit plans and additional responsibility for Puerto Rico and Canadian retirement plans. This senior individual contributor partners with vendors and team members to plan, develop, and administer employee retirement and health and welfare programs, ensuring accurate, efficient, and compliant plan administration in accordance with plan provisions and regulatory requirements.

Reporting to the Director, Retirement Strategies, the Sr. Retirement Consultant serves as a retirement operations subject matter expert and supports preparation for Retirement Committee and Investment Committee meetings. The role partners closely with recordkeepers, actuaries, trustees, financial advisors, and other external partners, as well as Legal, Payroll, Finance, HR, IT, and Benefits, and leads complex benefits projects from planning through implementation.

Job Responsibilities

Plan Operations, Compliance & Controls

• Lead operational oversight of the company's retirement plans, ensuring effective execution of recurring activities, compliance requirements, controls, deadlines, and annual deliverables.
• Oversee retirement plan compliance and testing, including nondiscrimination and coverage testing, contribution and compensation limits, regulatory filings, and other annual requirements, partnering with recordkeepers, actuaries, Legal, Payroll, and consultants to ensure timely, accurate completion.
• Ensure plans, programs, and processes comply with applicable governmental laws and regulations, including ERISA and IRS requirements, across a wide range of benefits disciplines.
• Monitor legislative and regulatory developments, such as SECURE 2.0 and IRS and DOL guidance, and assess their impact on plan operations, administration, and participant communications.
• Lead resolution of complex operational issues, participant claims, and plan corrections, including root-cause analysis, participant impact assessment, and corrective action.
• Oversee retirement plan data integrity and operational controls, using data and analytics to identify exceptions, trends, and risks, and partner with Payroll, IT, and vendors on interfaces, file feeds, reconciliations, testing, and data validation.

Governance & Committee Support

• Support and assist in preparing for Retirement Committee and Investment Committee meetings, including materials, plan reporting, data, analysis, and operational updates, and track follow-through on committee actions.
• Partner with Legal to maintain plan documents, amendments, summary plan descriptions, and required participant notices, ensuring plan operations align with plan terms.
• Support retirement plan audits, regulatory filings, and governance activities, providing plan reporting, data analysis, and operational expertise to the Director and other stakeholders.

Vendor Management & Cross-Functional Partnership

• Serve as the primary operational relationship manager for retirement recordkeepers, actuaries, trustees/custodians, and other key vendors, setting clear service expectations, monitoring performance and deliverables, and holding partners accountable for timely, accurate execution.
• Partner with vendors and team members to plan, develop, and administer employee health and welfare and retirement programs.
• Serve as a senior retirement subject matter expert and trusted advisor to the Director, independently managing multiple complex priorities and collaborating across the Benefits team, Legal, Payroll, Finance, IT, and HR to deliver timely, compliant results.

Plan Design, Projects & Continuous Improvement

• Evaluate benefits offerings and recommend enhancements that align with enterprise goals, providing operational expertise on retirement strategy, plan design changes, and program enhancements, including operational impacts and vendor capabilities.
• Lead the planning and implementation of complex benefits projects and initiatives, including plan changes, regulatory requirements, vendor transitions, and system enhancements, by defining requirements, coordinating testing, and ensuring successful delivery.
• Support defined benefit plan initiatives, including actuarial valuations, funding and benefit calculation reviews, and pension risk transfer or annuity purchase projects.
• Lead stakeholder meetings and develop change management communications that explain complex retirement and benefits changes to different audiences.
• Identify and lead continuous improvement opportunities that strengthen processes, procedures, controls, automation, vendo