Benefit director vs employee benefits coordinator

The differences between benefit directors and employee benefits coordinators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a benefit director and an employee benefits coordinator. Additionally, a benefit director has an average salary of $110,567, which is higher than the $42,484 average annual salary of an employee benefits coordinator.

The top three skills for a benefit director include human resources, oversight and ERISA. The most important skills for an employee benefits coordinator are human resources, OSHA, and workers compensation.

Benefit director vs employee benefits coordinator overview

	Benefit Director	Employee Benefits Coordinator
Yearly salary	$110,567	$42,484
Hourly rate	$53.16	$20.43
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	9,650	22,910
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	6	6

What does a benefit director do?

Benefits directors are professionals who plan and direct the overall design, implementation, and administration of an organization's health and welfare benefits programs. To support the decision making of the management, these directors are required to analyze benefit options and predict future costs. They should study programs so that they can identify benefit options as well as obtain advice from consultants. Benefits directors must study existing and new legislation so that they can comply with federal, state, and legal requirements and advise the management on needed actions.

What does an employee benefits coordinator do?

An employee benefits coordinator works at a company's human resources department, where they are in charge of overseeing benefits programs and assisting employees in its enrollment procedures. Their responsibilities usually include answering inquiries, discussing benefits and retirement plans, helping employees process their requirements, and updating employees with any changes related to their applications. They must also liaise with benefits and insurance providers, assist the human resources staff in maintaining and updating employee records, and conduct regular reviews and assessments to ensure that all procedures adhere to standards and regulations.

Benefit director vs employee benefits coordinator salary

Benefit directors and employee benefits coordinators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Benefit Director	Employee Benefits Coordinator
Average salary	$110,567	$42,484
Salary range	Between $73,000 And $165,000	Between $30,000 And $59,000
Highest paying City	Portland, ME	-
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	-
Best paying company	Cornerstone Research	-
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between benefit director and employee benefits coordinator education

There are a few differences between a benefit director and an employee benefits coordinator in terms of educational background:

	Benefit Director	Employee Benefits Coordinator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Benefit director vs employee benefits coordinator demographics

Here are the differences between benefit directors' and employee benefits coordinators' demographics:

	Benefit Director	Employee Benefits Coordinator
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 40.0% Female, 60.0%	Male, 17.5% Female, 82.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 7.9% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 6.7% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	35%	35%

Differences between benefit director and employee benefits coordinator duties and responsibilities

Benefit director example responsibilities.

Lead project to implement third-party ACA tax form processing for over 30,000 employee records.
Manage relate HRIS systems, software applications for benefit administration.
Lead departmental PeopleSoft projects and initiatives; involve in systems testing when additional system upgrades are implemented.
Implement HIPAA compliant wellness programs, including biometric testing.
Well verse with ERISA and HIPPA reporting.
Work with outside ERISA counsel on pension issues.

Employee benefits coordinator example responsibilities.

Lead departmental PeopleSoft projects and initiatives; involve in systems testing when additional system upgrades are implemented.
Enter benefit enrollments and update internal and external HRIS.
Maintain and update employee records via HRIS system.
Calculate hourly employees and process payroll through outside service ADP.
Process release of information requests according to company and HIPAA policy.
Assist with educating employees with the leave of absence process for FMLA.

Benefit director vs employee benefits coordinator skills

Common benefit director skills

Human Resources, 10%
Oversight, 6%
ERISA, 5%
Open Enrollment, 5%
HIPAA, 5%
HRIS, 4%

Common employee benefits coordinator skills

Human Resources, 11%
OSHA, 9%
Workers Compensation, 8%
PowerPoint, 8%
Background Checks, 7%
Cobra, 6%

Benefit Director vs. similar jobs

Benefit Director related careers

Benefit Director related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Benefit Director
Benefit Director vs Employee Benefits Coordinator

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs