Retirement Specialist I​/Call Center

Job Title

Retirement Specialist I

Customer Service Center:
The Customer Service Center is staffed with employees specially trained to receive and respond to incoming general information calls pertaining to members, retirees, insurance and other calls without transferring calls to other staff. Questions range from very general questions about the System and member benefits to specific questions about the status of activity related to member accounts. The mission of these employees, who serve as the front-line contact with the System's customers, is to provide high quality and timely service and to alleviate telephone disruptions in the member servicing departments.

The Customer Service Center efficiently and effectively serves our members who contact us via telephone by providing very thorough and accurate responses to questions without the need to transfer the caller. The staff assigned to the Center generates Estimates of Benefits, Balance Letters, and Benefit Verification Letters for members and retirees who make such requests via telephone and walk members through the retirement process over the telephone.

Duties of Retirement Specialist I include but are not limited to:

• Counsel PERS members by phone regarding benefits available under the defined benefit and defined contribution plans administered by PERS;
• Respond professionally and appropriately to inquiries with awareness that PERS members have a diverse level of knowledge about PERS, finances, and retirement in general;
• Assist members from all systems administered by PERS;
• Be familiar with rules of each system and keep up with changes in the laws affecting benefits of PERS systems;
• Work as part of a larger team with the goal of answering all incoming calls with no hang-ups;
• Research member and retiree accounts using PERS database system to assist callers and answer certain questions while adhering to the standards governing member and retiree privacy;
• Walk callers through the uses of various functions of the PERS website;
• Respond to document requests from callers within 48 hours;
• Respond to assigned email inquiries and efax requests within forty-eight business hours of agency's receipt of the inquiry;
• Maintain accurate information in the PERS member and retiree database, including the nature of telephone calls made to PERS and the nature and resolution of member and retiree requests;
• Prepare accurate Estimates of Benefits using standard formula for calculation; and work on additional projects as assigned by management.

What you'll need to be successful:
Applicants should be customer focused, quality oriented, innovative, and results and learning oriented; should communicate effectively; and must display strong teamwork, time management and organizational skills. Preferred Qualifications The candidates for this position must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university and 0-2 years of experience.