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.
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The work of
this office, 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.
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- The
Office of Health Benefits
This office,
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. The Health Benefits Bureau processes
all enrollments, changes and terminations for active and retired
members of the State Health Benefits Program. 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 Plan and State Employee Dental
Program. The Office of Policy and 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.
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- The
Office of Financial Services
The work of
this office, 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.
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- The
Office of Client Services
The Office of
Client Services disseminates pension, life insurance 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 three units: Telecommunications,
Counseling/Education and Support and Publications.
The Telecommunications
Unit counsels employees, retirees and employers via the telephone
by providing information about pension, life insurance, health benefits
and general procedures. The Counseling, Education and /Support Unit
responds to written requests for information and conducts personal
interviews with employees and retirees who visit the Division of
Pensions and Benefits, and provides seminars, employer group meetings,
employer instructions and various presentations concerning pension,
life insurance and health benefits to employees, employers and retirees.
This unit is also responsible for providing receptionist services
for the entire Division. The Publications Unit exercises overall
responsibility for creating, editing, updating and printing of written
materials disseminated by the Division, including manuals, reports,
forms and booklets.
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- The
Office of Management Information and Support Services
The work of
this office, 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.
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- The
Legal, Legislative, Planning and 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.
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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.
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The actuaries
establish actuarial tables for the operation of the retirement systems,
determine the annual appropriation required of participating employers
and conduct 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.
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The State Attorney
General is the legal advisor for all pension funds and other employee
benefit programs.
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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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