Benefits Specialist

About the role

Act as liaison between employees and insurance carriers to resolve benefit-related problems and ensure effective utilization of plans and positive employee relations. Participate in the development, recommendation, and installation of new or modified plans and employee benefit policies, and administer existing plans.

Responsibilities

• Administer health and welfare benefit plans including medical, dental, life, disability, retirement (401k), and supplemental programs.
• Ensure compliance with state and federal laws affecting group benefit management administration, including ACA, HIPAA, COBRA, ERISA, FMLA, Section 125, Qualified Medical Child Support Orders, Form 5500, USERRA, and state regulations.
• Participate in annual benefits renewal.
• Audit health and welfare benefit plan enrollment data to ensure accuracy.
• Reconcile and process monthly carrier premium invoices and ensure timely payment.
• Administer all aspects of the leave of absence program; develop strong working relationships with vendors and third-party administrators (TPA) to ensure accurate, efficient, and timely claims administration and excellent customer service.
• Partner with third-party administrator (TPA) to oversee eligibility, tracking, and reporting, ensuring compliance with FMLA and ADA and reasonable accommodation oversight.
• Track incident reporting and coordinate post-accident care and drug testing.
• Oversee return-to-work program and collaborate with providers and managers on Return to Work status and modified duty requests.
• Collaborate on appropriate handling of benefits impacted by leaves of absence, return-to-work, and end-of-employment such as medical, dental, life, and disability.
• Complete all applicable and mandatory OSHA reporting.
• Advise and counsel employees and their dependents on existing benefits.
• Respond to benefit inquiries and complaints; monitor questions and requests from the HR Helpdesk.
• Process employee benefits in ADP.
• Maintain contact with insurance carriers, third-party administrators, employees, and beneficiaries to facilitate proper and complete utilization of benefits for all employees.
• Process resignation requests, track turnover metrics and reporting, and coordinate involuntary termination with Regional HR Manager.
• Participate in the creation, design, and implementation of comprehensive benefit communications.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree preferred.
• Minimum 3-5 years of previous Benefits Administration experience.
• Understanding and experience with administering complex leaves of absence and reviewing reasonable accommodation requests.
• Knowledge of complex benefit design, administrative concepts, and compliance requirements.
• Experience with oversight of Workers Compensation administration.
• Knowledge of ADP.
• Knowledge of healthcare trends and Hawaii laws regarding Benefits and Workers Compensation.
• Knowledge of Treasury and IRS rules for HSAs, high-deductible health plans, and flexible spending accounts.
• Workers Compensation experience.