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The differences between benefits advisors and retirement specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a benefits advisor and a retirement specialist. Additionally, a benefits advisor has an average salary of $71,377, which is higher than the $40,474 average annual salary of a retirement specialist.
The top three skills for a benefits advisor include insurance benefits, patients and inbound calls. The most important skills for a retirement specialist are life insurance, HR, and recordkeeping.
| Benefits Advisor | Retirement Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $71,377 | $40,474 |
| Hourly rate | $34.32 | $19.46 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 48,023 | 24,916 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A benefits advisor specializes in devising benefits programs and strategies for a workforce, ensuring they are well-compensated for their hard work. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to identify the needs of employees in a company, studying the benefit programs of competitors, and assessing the existing programs while putting the company's welfare into consideration. They must prepare reports and presentations for clients, provide cost-estimates and business plans, and evaluate risks, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.
A retirement specialist is responsible for designing and implementing retirement packages such as benefits, savings, profit sharing, and pensions to the employees of a certain company. They work together with the human resource department to ensure that all retirees can access their benefits and pensions. Their duties and responsibilities include explaining the different retirement packages to the potential beneficiaries and working with HR to resolve any issues.
Benefits advisors and retirement specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Benefits Advisor | Retirement Specialist | |
| Average salary | $71,377 | $40,474 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $109,000 | Between $29,000 And $56,000 |
| Highest paying City | Vancouver, WA | Newark, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Chevron | Amgen |
| Best paying industry | Government | Finance |
There are a few differences between a benefits advisor and a retirement specialist in terms of educational background:
| Benefits Advisor | Retirement Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between benefits advisors' and retirement specialists' demographics:
| Benefits Advisor | Retirement Specialist | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.2% Female, 58.8% | Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 7.7% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 7.7% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |