Career Opportunity

Deferred Compensation Plan Benefits Technician - San Francisco Employees' Retirement System (1209) (128938)

Recruitment: RTF0128937-01121398

Published: April 13, 2023

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About:

This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A.

The San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System ("SFERS") offers an exceptional opportunity for the right candidates to serve this historic, well established City Department by engaging in interesting and rewarding mission critical work. Established in 1889 as a fund for families and orphans of firefighters and police officers, today the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System serves more than 75,000 active, vested, and retired employees of the City and County of San Francisco and their survivors.

The San Francisco Deferred Compensation Plan (SFDCP) allows CCSF employees to voluntarily defer and invest a portion of their salary earnings in a diverse selection of investments and portfolios for tax advantages and growth. The SFDCP is administered by a third-party administrator (Voya Financial) and managed internally by the SFERS Deferred Compensation Plan Manager who continuously monitors the Plan for enhancement opportunities to benefit participants as they save for retirement. The SFDCP currently serves more than 33,000 participants with nearly $4.5 billion in assets under management as of January 31, 2023.

Our Mission

Deliver an exceptional voluntary retirement program, with empowering education and advanced tools that enable participants to achieve their financial retirement goals.

Specific information regarding this recruitment process is listed below:

• Application Opening: April 13, 2023
• Application Deadline: Open Until Filled         
• Recruitment ID: RTF0128937 - 01121398

This job announcement will not close before April 19, 2023. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Role description

Under supervision of a Benefits Supervisor, the Benefits Technicians at the San Francisco City and County Employees' Retirement System perform technical, administrative and research functions related to the Deferred Compensation Program.

Examples of essential duties include, but are not limited to:

1. Provides support services to co-benefits technician, analyst, and supervisor in the day-to-day operations of the deferred compensation plan.
2. Provides general information to City and County employees regarding the 457(b) plan by answering the telephone, greeting employees at the front desk, and responding to emails.
3. Researches records and accounts while utilizing various software.  Enters information in PeopleSoft. Resolves account discrepancies and processes adjustments.  Processes buybacks. 
4. Reviews a variety of forms for accuracy.  Submits and follows through until completion.
5. Performs various calculations which includes lump sum vacation payouts, special three year catch-up, and loss of income for unforeseeable emergency withdrawals.
6. Enters lump sum vacation forms on excel spreadsheet and reconciles against payout by the Controller’s office.  Confirms deposited into their deferred compensation account.
7. Communicates with employees, retirees, beneficiaries, human resources, and payroll personnel within citywide departments. Works closely with payroll officers to update accounts in PeopleSoft.
8. Assists in suspending and/or reamortizing loan payments.  Logs information, saves participant documentation, and communicates with the recordkeeper and participants as needed.
9. Provides technical information regarding loans, special catch-up provision, unforeseeable emergency withdrawals, death claims, qualified domestic relations orders and required minimum distributions.
10. Completes standard letters for qualified domestic relations orders and maintains log and records. Prepares routine correspondence to participants, alternate payee, and attorneys. 
11. Performs data entry and acts as a verifier to check work performed by another technician or analyst.
12. Performs other related duties as assigned/required.

How to qualify

Minimum Qualifications 

1. Completion of two (2) years college-level course work; AND
2. One (1) year of verifiable clerical or technical experience administering employee benefits programs including: researching records, claims adjudication, database maintenance, reviewing forms, performing calculations, and responding to general inquiries; AND
3. Proficiency in the use of computers to perform word processing and to perform data entry/retrieval.

Substitution

Additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis. Thirty (30) semester units/forty-five (45) quarter units equal one year of experience.

Desirable Qualifications:
The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.

• Two or more years of verifiable experience working with a private or public defined benefit plan or defined contribution plan.
• Possession of a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, or closely related field.
• Extensive customer service experience.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Working knowledge of Oracle PeopleSoft.
• A minimum of one year working knowledge of Microsoft Office including Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.

Verification

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements.

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training, and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. 

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification, or may lead to lower scores.

SELECTION PROCEDURES

After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which include the following:

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (Weight: Qualifying)

Candidates will be sent a minimum qualification supplemental questionnaire (MQSQ) to complete and submit. This MQSQ is designed to obtain specific information regarding a candidate's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications for this position. It is essential that candidates provide complete information in identifying their education, experience, and training. The MQSQ will be used to evaluate if the applicant possesses the required minimum qualifications.

Written Examination (Weight 40%):

Candidates who are qualified will be invited to participate in a written examination to determine their relative knowledge, skills, and abilities in job-related areas which may include, but are not limited to: Technical knowledge of employee benefits programs; ability to perform accurate benefits calculations; ability to research; computer skills; and problem solving ability.

Only those applicants meeting the Minimum Qualifications will be notified of the exact date, time and place to report to the Written Examination.

Supplemental Questionnaire Evaluation (Weight: 60%)

Candidates who meet the position’s minimum qualification requirements and pass the written examination will be sent a Supplemental Questionnaire (SQ) that must be completed by the set date. Candidates will be evaluated on their relative knowledge, skill and ability levels in job-related areas. A passing score must be achieved on the SQ in order to be placed/ranked on the Eligible List.

Candidates must achieve a passing score on both the Written Examination and the Supplemental Questionnaire Evaluation in order to be ranked on the eligible list.

Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed to advance through all of the steps in the selection process. The department may administer additional selection procedures upon certification in order to make a final hiring decision.

Candidates’ scores on this examination may also be applied to other announcements involving other job titles, when directed by the Human Resources Director.

Upon approval of the Human Resource Director (see Civil Service Rule 111A.26.5), the eligible list resulting from this announcement may be used by other departments that also use this classification or a similar classification. To find other Departments which use this classification, please visit here. Search that document by title or job code to see which departments use the classification.

What else should I know?

Eligible List/Score Report

A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created, and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be six months, and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

Certification

The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be Rule of Three Scores. Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.

Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. Clerical errors may be corrected by the posting the correction on the Department of Human Resources website at careers.sf.gov.

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1. The standard for the review of such appeals is “abuse of discretion” or “no rational basis” for establishing the position description, the minimum qualifications and/or the certification rule. Appeals must include a written statement of the item(s) being contested and the specific reason(s) why the cited item(s) constitute(s) abuse of discretion by the Human Resources Director. Appeals must be submitted directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

HOW TO APPLY

All applicants must submit a resume and completed job application (all sections, including Experience and Education, must be completed) in order to be considered. Resumes will not be taken as a substitute for completing the application. 

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process.

Visit careers.sf.gov and begin the application process.

• Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst, Tess Bobila, at tess.bobila@sfgov.org.                             

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.