State of Maryland

A Retirement Associate I is the entry level of specialized clerical work involved in the processing of transactions requiring the application of Maryland State Retirement System laws, rules, and regulations.  Employees in this classification do not supervise other positions.

Employees in this classification receive close supervision from a Retirement Services Specialist or higher level administrator.

Positions in this classification are evaluated by using the classification job evaluation methodology.  The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work sections of the class specification.

The Retirement Associate I and Retirement Associate II are differentiated on the basis of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees.  The Retirement Associate I performs the duties under close supervision while the Retirement Associate II performs the duties under close supervision at times and under general supervision at other times depending on the complexity of the specific duty being performed.

Determines membership eligibility in the appropriate retirement plan by scrutinizing applications for membership or reinstatement and comparing the recorded data with plan eligibility criteria;

Certifies plan membership and retirement contribution rate to appropriate employing agency and payroll center by processing authorized computer generated documents;

Determines eligibility of members’ requests to purchase service credit by scrutinizing applications and comparing the recorded data to eligibility criteria;

Calculates cost of service credit purchase request by extracting pertinent data contained in manual and computer generated membership history records;

Records and reconciles daily retirement contribution transactions credited to the member’s automated accounts;

Scrutinizes refund applications for accuracy and proper authorizations before accepting for payment;

Determines retirement eligibility by scrutinizing retirement applications and comparing to eligibility criteria;

Calculates retirement benefits estimates and finals by extracting pertinent data contained in manual and computer generated membership history records;

Maintains membership and retiree automated files by recording file maintenance transactions on data input documents;

Corrects errors and unposted transactions rejected by the automated membership, refund, and retirement systems;

Calculates benefits due to beneficiaries pertinent data contained in manual and computer generated membership and retire history files;

Maintains membership and retiree automated files by recording file maintenance transactions on data input documents;

Records and classifies revenue received from members and participating employers, analyzes revenue and prepares daily deposit to appropriate bank accounts;

Prepares memoranda and other communications at the request of employees and other sections within the Retirement System in order to provide technical information;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of Maryland State Retirement laws, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures;

Knowledge of business English, spelling, punctuation, grammar and basic mathematics;

Ability to communicate effectively with employees and supervisors;

Ability to deal tactfully with employees and supervisors;

Ability to operate basic office appliances (calculators, computer terminals).

Education:   Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of high school equivalency certificate.

Experience: One year of clerical experience.

Note: Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a non-commissioned officer in Administration classifications or Administrative, Clerical, or Office Services specialty codes in the administrative support field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required experience.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions.  Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is not assigned to a bargaining unit, as indicated by the designation of S (Supervisor), M (Manager), T (Agency Head), U (Board or Commission Member), W (Student), X (Used by Agency or Excluded by Executive Order), or Z (Confidential).  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

Employees in this classification are eligible to receive overtime compensation.  An employee who works more than the normal workweek is entitled to be compensated for that overtime as provided by the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 8-305.

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series.  NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance level in a classification series.  In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series, an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class, as defined by the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.