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Benefit Specialist skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Elisha Blankson

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical benefit specialist skills. We ranked the top skills for benefit specialists based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 12.7% of benefit specialist resumes contained customer service as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a benefit specialist needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 benefit specialist skills for your resume and career

1. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how benefit specialists use customer service:

Finance Invoice/Billing Reconciliation Customer Service Receptionist
Re-engineered established Benefits Department by introducing self-funding concepts/markets to current clients and prospects while training producers and customer service representatives.

2. HR

HR stands for human resources and is used to describe the set of people who work for a company or an organization. HR responsibilities revolve around updating employee records and carrying out management processes like planning, recruitment, evaluation, and selection processes. HR is a key contributor to any company or organization's growth as they are in charge of hiring the right employees, processing payrolls, conducting disciplinary actions, etc.

Here's how benefit specialists use hr:

Managed administrative functions within department to include assisting HR Manager with recruitment, hiring, and completion of new-hire administration processes.
Provided administration of benefits including responding to employee inquiries and entering benefit elections in the HR information system.

3. Patients

Here's how benefit specialists use patients:

Advised HIV/AIDS and chronically/terminally ill patients about rights and filing for temporary or permanent disability based on status and clinical condition.
Worked closely with billing department regarding detailed information for patients with multiple payers and any specialized billing instructions.

4. HRIS

Here's how benefit specialists use hris:

Conducted periodic HRIS systems' audits to verify data integrity; identified and resolved discrepancies, initiated and implemented corrective action.
Handled benefit related questions from employees and maintaining information in HRIS system involving participant benefits and elections.

5. Life Insurance

Here's how benefit specialists use life insurance:

Manage the tuition reimbursement program, short/long term disability, maternity leave and employee benefit elections including voluntary life insurance.
Resolved administrative problems with the carrier, initiate benefits and prepared claims for disability insurance and life insurance representatives.

6. Cobra

COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) is a federal law that allows employers of 20 or more employees who provide health care benefits to offer the option of continuing this coverage to individuals who would otherwise lose their benefits due to termination of employment, reduction in hours or certain other events. It is a temporary coverage that provides cash for medical expenses up to 18 months. The policy is helpful for retirees, former employees, former spouses, dependent children and spouses, workers laid off, on strike, fired for work, etc.

Here's how benefit specialists use cobra:

Distributed Cobra continuation of coverage information to employees experiencing termination and assisted retired employees with benefit coverage options including Medicare.
Processed required documents through payroll and providers to ensure accurate records and deductions and initiated COBRA documentation upon terminations.

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7. Long-Term Disability

Long-term disability is a kind of insurance policy that protects the income of workers when they sustain severe injuries or are bedridden with sicknesses that keeps them out of work for more than 3 months or more. The insurance scheme also covers a situation where the worker is permanently disabled and can no longer resume work.

Here's how benefit specialists use long-term disability:

Provided information regarding information pertaining to the status of their short-term and long-term disability which was managed by MetLife.
Maintained invoices for short-term and long-term disability including preparation of short-term disability reports summarizing claims and coverage period.

8. FMLA

Here's how benefit specialists use fmla:

Analyzed, processed and managed FMLA claims to determine eligibility and certification in compliance with state and federal regulations.
Counseled employees and supervisors about FMLA rights and responsibilities while maintaining appropriate confidentiality of employee medical information.

9. HIPAA

Here's how benefit specialists use hipaa:

Handle confidential information with discretion and sensitivity in accordance to HIPAA and Data Privacy requirements Provided functional information for benefits website.
Educated customers on extensive line of insurance products- Responsible for completing customer applications- Maintained client accounts and ensured confidentiality- Ensured HIPAA compliance

10. Health Insurance

Here's how benefit specialists use health insurance:

Communicated daily with company Plan Administrators and Human Resources departments to verify the authenticity of Health Insurance claims.
Participated in a competitive sales environment, selling alternative health insurance for consumers denied major medical coverage.

11. Open Enrollment

Open enrollment means a duration that comes every year that a person can sign up for health insurance or change the plan that a person has, for instance, if a person needs to deregister. The activity always features in a few weeks or months within a year. It allows workers to alter their benefit plans, including vision, dental, health insurance, life insurance, and disability.

Here's how benefit specialists use open enrollment:

Coordinated activities surrounding benefits open enrollment, including answering an average of 75+ daily calls during peak open enrollment periods.
Coordinated and conducted open enrollment meetings for all plans, including preparing and coordinating distribution of communication materials.

12. Data Entry

Data entry means entering data into a company's system with the help of a keyboard. A person responsible for entering data may also be asked to verify the authenticity of the data being entered. A person doing data entry must pay great attention to tiny details.

Here's how benefit specialists use data entry:

Compose professional quality correspondence, accurately perform all data entry, assist in creating procedure documentation and perform quality control.
Perform required data entry regarding client accounts for the purpose of analyzing and providing accurate information to customers.

13. Benefits Administration

Here's how benefit specialists use benefits administration:

Provided retirement plan/benefits administration support.
Championed benefits administration for 2 out of 5 new store openings, performing benefit comparisons, conducting presentations and overseeing orientation.

14. PowerPoint

Here's how benefit specialists use powerpoint:

Designed and delivered employee orientation and all related material; created and delivered PowerPoint presentations of benefit plans.
Worked with training manager to develop a bi-weekly PowerPoint presentation for new employee orientation program.

15. Payroll Deductions

Here's how benefit specialists use payroll deductions:

Assist employees, beneficiaries and/or insurance providers for the purpose of verifying eligibility, conveying information and processing accurate payroll deductions.
Audited benefit payroll deductions, managed databases and reconciled benefit insurances and answered benefit inquiries applying specific state regulations as needed.

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What skills help Benefit Specialists find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What type of skills will young Benefit Specialists need?

Elisha Blankson

Program Director NCCU, Assistant Professor, North Carolina Central University

Graduates will need a skill set about the field in which they received training and additional skills useful to the job market. For example, with the changing demographics in the United States, extra skills in information technology and foreign languages will be a plus when entering the job market.

Do you want to know more?

List of benefit specialist skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a benefit specialist resume and required skills for a benefit specialist to have include:

Customer Service
HR
Patients
HRIS
Life Insurance
Cobra
Long-Term Disability
FMLA
HIPAA
Health Insurance
Open Enrollment
Data Entry
Benefits Administration
PowerPoint
Payroll Deductions
Workers Compensation
ERISA

FSA
Benefit Programs
ACA
Insurance Benefits
Social Security
Medicaid
Insurance Carriers
Status Changes
HSA
Hippa
Short-Term Disability
Disability Insurance
Party Administrators
Tuition Reimbursement
Health Benefits
Inbound Calls
Wellness Programs

Insurance Coverage
Medical Claims
Outbound Calls
ADP
Plan Changes
Leave Management
Benefit Enrollments
STD
Benefit Issues
Leave Administration
Payroll System
Cobra Administration
Benefit Changes
PeopleSoft
Plan Provisions

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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