ORGANIZATION OF
THE DIVISION OF PENSIONS AND BENEFITS
THE DIRECTOR
The Director is responsible
for the coordination of the functions of the Division, the
development of the Division budget and communication with
other branches of State government, local government and the
public. The Director serves as the Secretary to the Supplemental
Annuity Collective Trust Council, the State Health Benefits
Commission, and the State House Commission in its capacity
as the Board of Trustees for the Judicial Retirement System.
The Director is also responsible for legal and legislative
matters and Board of Trustees administration. In addition,
the Treasurer has delegated the responsibility of maintaining
the Federal-State Agreement for Social Security to the Director
of the Division of Pensions and Benefits.
The Division of Pensions
and Benefits falls under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey
Department of the Treasury. The Director of the Division of
Pensions and Benefits reports directly to the State Treasurer.
The Treasurer is an ex-officio member of all State pension
boards and commissions.
THE OFFICE OF OPERATIONS
The work of the Office of Operations, as
overseen by an Assistant Director, is divided among three
bureaus: Enrollment and Purchase, Claims, and Retirement.
- The Enrollment and Purchase Bureau processes
all enrollments, transfers and purchases of service credit
for all of the State retirement systems.
- The Claims Bureau processes all death
claims, withdrawals and loan requests. In addition, this
bureau oversees beneficiary designations filed by active
and retired members and issues group life insurance policies,
riders and special endorsements.
- The Retirement Bureau prepares retirement
estimates and processes retirement applications for all
of the State retirement systems.
THE OFFICE OF HEALTH BENEFITS
The Office of Health Benefits, as overseen
by an Assistant Director, is responsible for developing administrative
policy and new program development as well as marketing the
State Health Benefits Program and School Employees' Health
Benefits Program.
- The Health Benefits Bureau processes
all enrollments, changes and terminations for active and
retired members of the health benefits programs. In addition,
this bureau is responsible for the administration of benefits
under the federal COBRA law and enrollments, changes and
terminations for members of the Prescription Drug Plans
and Dental Plans.
- The Office of Policy & Planning analyzes
and makes recommendations concerning current and proposed
health benefits programs to provide the highest quality
programs at the least possible cost. It manages contract
renewals and requests for proposals. Policy and Planning
is responsible for health benefit program review and development.
This office also provides administrative support to the
State Health Benefits Commission and School Employees' Health
Benefits Commission.
THE OFFICE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
The work of the Office of Financial Services,
as overseen by an Assistant Director, is divided among eight
sections: The Chief Accountant's Office, Audit/Billing, Defined
Contribution Plans, Accounting Services, Cash Receipts/Disbursements,
Ledgers/Financial Statements, Account Reconciliations and
Health Benefits/Financial.
The Office of Financial Services is charged
with the custodianship of pension and health benefits assets.
These assets are in excess of $80 billion and include approximately
600,000 individual member accounts. These combined systems
place the Division of Pensions and Benefits second among the
top pensions and benefits administrators in the nation. This
office is responsible for the accounting functions necessary
for the successful operations of the various pension funds,
health benefits and agency funds, as well as the administration
of the Pension Adjustment Program, the Supplemental Annuity
Collective Trust, and Deferred Compensation Plan.
THE OFFICE OF CLIENT SERVICES
The Office of Client Services disseminates
pension and health benefits information to employees, retirees,
and employers covered by the various New Jersey State-administered
retirement systems and related benefit programs. The work
of this office, as overseen by an Assistant Director, is divided
among four units: Telecommunications, Counseling and Correspondence,
Benefits Education, and Publications.
- The Telecommunications Unit counsels
employees, retirees and employers via the telephone by providing
information about pension, health benefits and general procedures.
- The Counseling and Correspondence Unit
conducts personal interviews with employees and retirees
who visit the Division of Pensions and Benefits and responds
to written requests for information.
- The Benefits Education Unit provides
seminars, employer group meetings, employer instructions,
and various presentations concerning pension and health
benefits to employees, employers, and retirees.
- The Publications Unit exercises overall
responsibility for creating, editing, updating of written
materials disseminated in print or online by the Division,
including manuals, reports, forms and booklets.
THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION
AND SUPPORT SERVICES
The work of the Office of Management Information
and Support Services, as overseen by an Assistant Director,
is responsible for the development and maintenance of all
processing and management information systems for the Division
as it relates to active and retired benefits. This office
also has the responsibility for the training, usage and maintenance
of all automated office and voice equipment.
This office consists of five sections: Optical
Disk and Records Management, Data Entry, Computer Scheduling
and Production Control, Systems Development, and Support Services.
The Support Services section has the overall
responsibility for the building and equipment, mail room,
warehouse operations and forms inventory.
THE LEGAL, LEGISLATIVE, PLANNING & RESEARCH UNIT
The Legal, Legislative, Planning & Research
Unit is located within the Director's Office and operates
under the direction of an Assistant Director.
- The Legal section provides legal expertise
in development and implementation of new and existing policies,
programs, operations, and in updating the New Jersey Administrative
Code as it pertains to the benefits administered by the
Division.
- The Legislative section reviews and analyzes
legislation impacting the Division.
- The Planning and Research section is
responsible for providing a structured and consistent planning
function for the Division. The focus of the office is the
development of a multi-year strategic business plan for
the Division that will establish priorities on a short-term
and long-term basis, assist in the efficient allocation
of resources, and provide benchmarks for measuring and evaluating
the Division's performance. In addition, this office conducts
research and provides management with recommendations to
improve services.
BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
The Boards and Commissions have the general
responsibility for the proper operation of their respective
employee benefits program. The Boards adopt rules in compliance
with statute and advice of the Attorney General. The Boards
may grant hearings in disputes concerning issues of law or
fact. Hearings are held by the Office of Administrative Law.
The Boards maintain a record of all proceedings
and hold regular meetings and special meetings when necessary
ACTUARIAL ADVISOR
The Actuarial Advisor establishes actuarial
tables for the operation of the retirement systems, determines
the annual appropriation required of participating employers,
and conducts annual examinations of the systems' financial
actuarial position.
Contracts for actuarial services
for the retirement systems are awarded at specified intervals
through the regulations governing the procurement of goods
and services for the State of New Jersey and its constituent
departments and agencies.
LEGAL ADVISOR
The State Attorney General is the legal
advisor for all pension funds and other employee benefit programs.
MEDICAL ADVISORS
All pension funds are served by a medical
board consisting of three physicians who review claims for
disability as submitted by the Disability Review Section of
Retirement Bureau for the Division of Pensions and Benefits.
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