Senior Benefits Tax Accountant

Role Overview

• As a Senior Group Benefits Tax Accountant, you’ll play a key role in Pacific Life’s growth and long-term success by leading tax compliance and financial support for our group benefits products, including disability, life, supplemental health, dental, and vision.
• You'll be responsible for overseeing the tax treatment of disability claims, ensuring accurate tax reporting and remittance, and serving as the division’s subject matter expert on benefits taxation.
• Perform and review complex pre
• and post-disability earnings calculations.
• Calculate partial earnings for claimants returning to part-time work.
• Verify claim taxability at the employer/policy level and request annual documentation.
• Ensure accurate benefit payments and net amounts based on tax status.
• Conduct financial audits within the EIS system to validate benefit calculations, offsets, and payment integrity.
• Identify and correct underpayments or overpayments.
• Recalculate FICA withholdings when taxability changes occur.
• Issue corrected W-2s (W-2Cs) for prior-year adjustments.
• Oversee the financial recovery process and develop long-term strategies for fund recovery.
• Validate daily, quarterly, and annual tax withholdings and remittances.
• Ensure timely and accurate remittance to federal and state tax agencies.
• Lead year-end tax reporting for claimants (W-2, 1099) and employers based on tax support agreements and elections.
• Provide expert guidance on tax-related matters beyond standard claims processing.
• Support call center staff with tax inquiries and develop annual FAQs for W-2, 1099-LTC, and 1099-INT forms.
• Respond to tax questions from claimants, employers, and brokers.
• Manage policy-level taxability corrections and Tier 1 policyholder tax reports.
• Prepare and distribute FICA consent letters for prior-year overpayment refunds.
• Partner with Finance to establish financial controls and robust reporting mechanisms.
• Collaborate with Training to develop financial training programs to improve accuracy.
• Identify and implement process improvements to enhance tax compliance and operational efficiency.

Requirements

• Minimum 8+ years of relevant experience in finance, tax, or compliance roles within the insurance or group benefits industry.
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• Deep knowledge of federal and state tax regulations related to disability benefits, sick pay, and group insurance products.
• Experience managing multi-state tax compliance and understanding of state-specific disability and PFML programs.
• Strong analytical and auditing skills, with the ability to interpret complex financial and tax data.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel; familiarity with business intelligence tools (e.g., Tableau, PowerBI) and claims systems (e.g., EIS) is a plus.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with a customer-service mindset.

Tech Stack

• Tableau

Benefits

• Your wellbeing is important to Pacific Life, and we’re committed to providing you with flexible benefits that you can tailor to meet your needs.
• Prioritization of your health and well-being including Medical, Dental, Vision, and Wellbeing Reimbursement Account that can be used on yourself or your eligible dependents
• Generous paid time off options including: Paid Time Off, Holiday Schedules, and Financial Planning Time Off
• Paid Parental Leave as well as an Adoption Assistance Program
• Competitive 401k savings plan with company match and an additional contribution regardless of participation