Retirement Benefits Specialist Trainee - Fixed Term
Job Details
- Description
RETIREMENT BENEFITS SPECIALIST TRAINEE - FIXED TERM
SALARY: $29.23 - $40.93 Hourly
$2,338.38 - $3,274.06 Biweekly
$60,797.95 - $85,125.49 Annually
LOCATION: Ventura, CA
JOB TYPE: Fixed Term
OPENING DATE: 09/10/25 CLOSING DATE: 09/23/2025 5:00 pm
THE POSITION
The Ventura County Employees' Retirement Association (VCERA) provides retirement benefit services to more than 22,000 active and retired members. Under general supervision, incumbents in this classification are responsible for researching and processing retirement benefit inquiries and claims on behalf of VCERA members.
The ideal candidate must have the ability to work with a diverse group of members with tact and diplomacy. The
candidate should be able to learn, interpret and apply complex rules and mathematical formulas, enjoy addressing
questions from members/beneficiaries and navigating through retirement issues. Incumbents are responsible for highly confidential information and must be able to maintain confidentiality of such information.The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular (including Temporary and Fixed Term), Intermittent, and Extra Help vacancies for these positions only. There are currently two (2) Fixed Term vacancies within the Retirement Department.
NOTE: Fixed Term positions are Regular positions for a specific duration of time. These Fixed Term positions are
anticipated to expire on September 16, 2028.
Incumbents in this classification are eligible for benefits at the MB4 level. Technical Specialist IV-MB is a
Management/Confidential classification and are eligible for overtime compensation.TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
OPENING DATE: September 10, 2025
CLOSING DATE: September 23, 2025
Examples Of Duties
Duties may include but are not limited to the following.
• Reviews, analyzes and determines eligibility for retirement benefit estimates, final retirement benefits, and
retirement service credit purchases.
• Processes documentation on behalf of separated members including contribution refunds, rollovers, inter-system
membership advice forms and deferred retirements.
• Reviews and processes beneficiary change forms.
• Collaborates with other retirement systems to initiate reciprocity on behalf of members.
• Researches, evaluates and responds to complex retirement benefit claims and inquiries.
• Interprets, researches and applies state and federal regulations and laws.
• Initiates correspondence to members and County departments.
• Processes member retirement applications and enters data into the pension system.
• Counsels and provides guidance to members and their beneficiaries on retirement benefits.
• Maintains operational procedure manuals.
• Assists the Communications Officer in the preparation and presentation of retirement information for new
employee orientations and retirement workshops.
• Coordinates and manages complex special projects as assigned.
• Processes new member enrollments.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.
Note: Although new Benefits Specialists are routinely assigned to the Active Member Unit, this position may be utilized in the other areas of operation (Death Services, Community Property, Retiree Payroll, or Disability Retirement). Future promotional opportunities may exist (conducted by way of a separate promotional opportunity recruitment) as this position underfills a Program Administrator II allocation.Typical Qualifications
These are entrance requirements to the examination process and assure neither continuance in the process nor
placement on an eligible list.
EDUCATION, TRAINING, and EXPERIENCE:
Any combination of education and/or experience that would provide the knowledge and abilities listed below. The
required knowledge, skills, and abilities can be met by:
• Four (4) years of advanced level clerical and/or fiscal record keeping experience.OR
• The equivalent of a bachelor's degree in business administration, finance, economics, accounting, or related
discipline.
NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
• Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Ability to understand and execute complex calculations accurately.
• Excellent written communication skills must be demonstrated in the application and the supplemental
questionnaire.
DESIRED:
• Intermediate proficiency in Adobe Acrobat.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS and ABILITIES:
Working knowledge of:
• Retirement Department (Ventura County Employees' Retirement Association) ;
• Standard office procedures;
Ability to:
• Learn and apply good customer service practices; able to act with tact and diplomacy;
• Utilize strong interpersonal and communication skills to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships;
• Learn to provide guidance to employees and/or family members on retirement contributions, retirement planning,
benefit claim procedures and other concerns;
• Use computers and learn/use spreadsheet, word processing, and pension software programs;
• Make complex arithmetic calculations; utilize and apply conversion tables and standard formulas to individual
circumstances; collect and analyze data to draw logical conclusions and make appropriate recommendations;
• Learn, interpret, apply and explain complex regulations and procedures;
• Make sound decisions and independent judgments;
• Maintain accurate records.Recruitment Process
FINAL FILING DATE: Applications must be received by Ventura County Human Resources no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 23, 2025. To apply online, please refer to our website at www.venturacounty. gov/jobs. If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call (805) 654-5129 for application materials and submit them to County of Ventura Human Resources, 800 South Victoria Avenue, L-1970, Ventura, CA 93009.For more information please review the job posting on the website. For further information about this recruitment, please contact Yvonne Martinez by e-mail at Yvonne.Martinez@venturacounty.gov or by telephone at (805) 654-3051.
- Job ID
- 346
- Job Title
- Retirement Benefits Specialist Trainee - Fixed Term
- Application Deadline
- 09/23/2025
- Salary Range
- $60,797.00 - $85,125.00
- Job Location
- Ventura, CA
- Website
- www.venturacounty.gov/jobs.
Contact Information
- Name
- Yvonne Martinez
- Phone Number
- (805) 654-3051
- yvonne.martinez@venturacounty.gov
- Best Method of Contact