What does a Pensions Administrator do?

A pensions administrator oversees retirement accounts for a company, group of companies, or a government agency. In this position, a person is usually charged with maintaining pension accounts and keeping them updated. For example, a person with this title may update pension fund records when an individual with a pension loses his job or quits, retires, or dies. He may also record changes that develop because of the divorce of an employee or a requested change in the beneficiaries that are listed. A pension plan administrator may also monitor investments, send out statements, set up payment schedules, and communicate with employees, managers from client companies, insurance companies, and financial advisors.

Typically, a pensions administrator has the job of monitoring and managing retirement accounts. He may do this as an employee of a company or a government organization. His job description usually includes a wide variety of tasks related to overseeing pension funds. For example, he may prepare and distribute reports and statements, assist with the setting of fund parameters, and calculate profits and losses. He may also track changes in pension funds, which may include tracking and recording changes in such areas as investments and parameters as well as changes that develop when an employee joins a company or leaves it, dies, gets married, or gets divorced.

A pension plan administrator is usually responsible for sending statements, calculating benefits, and processing payments. When changes are needed in payment schedules, he is typically responsible for facilitating those changes as well. A person with this title may also have the responsibility of sending notices to clients in the event of changes that affect their pension funds.

A major part of working as a pensions administrator is communicating with various people about the pension fund. A pensions administrator may, for example, provide customer service for employees who have inquiries concerning pension funds. He may also communicate with financial advisors and insurance companies as part of his job. Additionally, he may answer questions from pension managers at client companies and collaborate with a range of financial professionals.

In many cases, a person with this title reports to a senior-level executive. This usually depends on the size of the company or government organization for which he works, however. He usually has a good deal of responsibility and permission to make a wide range of decisions on his own. In some cases, he may even train and supervise other staff members.