William Merrill Email & Phone Number

Baton Rouge, La, Us

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States

Serves as the FSA/COBRA (Flexible Benefits Accounts and Consolidated Omnibus Budget and Reconciliation Act) Manager in the Medical and Pharmacy section of the Office of Group Benefits (OGB) and is responsible for research, analysis, oversight and implementation of management policies relative to Flexible Spending Accounts and COBRA activities statewide for all state agencies, participant school boards and government subdivisions.OGB’s management functions consist of oversight in the administration of benefits provided by third party administrators (TPAs) while insuring overall program cost, containment and compliance with federal and state laws.Key functional components require expertise and extreme attention to detail to complex federal and state regulations of the Flex Plan which allows employees to reduce their Federal Income Taxes in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code Section 125 Cafeteria Plan Regulations. At least 70,000 state employees participate in the plan, sheltering their payroll deduction premiums, and State of Louisiana thereby experiences savings annually as results of participating employees in this plan.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States

Counsels employees, prospective employees, and retirees regarding benefit and retirement options while maintaining at all times the appropriate level of discretion and confidentiality. Answers benefit inquiries and resolves benefit-related complaints, escalating up chain of command when appropriate. In collaboration with the Manager for Total Rewards, Payroll, & Compliance, coordinates the planning and execution of benefits orientations, annual enrollment meetings, and benefits fairs including the development of communication materials. Participates in the design, implementation, and maintenance of benefits and retirement communication and education programs designed to enhance employee understanding of all options. Communicates with surviving dependents upon death of employee/retiree and processes life insurance claims if applicable. Maintains benefits-related information on the HR website.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Area

Designs, develops and delivers training to Retirement Benefits Analysts that includes one-on-one training and group training with varying levels of material and methods of presentation; researches complex technical material, laws and board policies to incorporate in the training material; and develops highly complex, technical presentations, documents, procedures manuals and evaluation instruments. Manages a continuing employee training and development program according to complexity of work; serves as an on-the-job mentor for new analysts; tracks progress and determines if further training is necessary; develops and maintains testing procedures for lower level analysts to determine progression in the training series; and conducts surveys in order to determine immediate and long-range training and development needs. Prepares reports of training conducted, effectiveness of the training and attainment of goals. Continually acquire and apply advanced knowledge of retirement procedures of the state retirement systems, such as: enrollment of new members, purchasing or transferring service credit, disability benefits, survivor benefits, and retirement processing both in planning educational and training programs, and in answering queries from various sources. Provide assistance to various processing areas within the Retirement Department as a floating analyst. Serves as a verifier for staff who are in various stages of training or career progression advancement and report findings to supervisor.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Area

Direct and manage with full administrative responsibility, the Administrative Services Department. The Administrative Services Department consists of one supervisor, one administrative program specialist and 7 administrative coordinators which provide support and assistance to over 150 employees and more than 160,000 members of TRSL. The Administrative Services Department is responsible for the management of the following programs: the $1.5 million retirement systems building budget/expenditures/project management/contract negotiations/operations, administrative services budget and planning; property management and control ($2.2 million); fleet management, safety, loss prevention, mail center (incoming/outgoing) and postal accounts, in-house printing, scanning, indexing, microfilming and management of all member imaged documents, records management, agency rentals and leases, central supply and receiving, daily errands and messenger services.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Area

Responsible for examining, processing and determining eligibility for Service and Initial Lump Sum Benefit (ILSB) retirement applications in accordance with Title 11 of LA Revised Statutes, board policies and administrative decisions. Also responsible for analyzing member records for completeness, accuracy of information and proper authorization from employing agencies, determing eligibility for benefits by applying complex formulas in accordance with Title 11 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, computing estimated and final benefit accounts, calculating tax-sheltered and tax-recoverable conbributions in accordance with federal tax laws, and counsels responding to a variety of requests for information.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States

Developed Social Security disability cases for the State of Louisiana from initial processing to final determination. Reviewed and summarized medical files to include important evidence that would be beneficial to each case. Independently researched medical conditions, body system impairments, medical terms, and diagnostic testing to help with case development. Utilized internal databases and Social Security policies to check for disability eligibility.

Master Of Business Administration - Mba, Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General, 1St Year

Bachelors Of Science, Business Administration

Bachelors Of Science, Business Administration

Total Hours Completed: 57

Associate'S Degree Of Applied Science, Business

Education record