A benefits assistant is generally responsible for administering the employee health insurance plans for state, research foundation, and student employees. They usually work in the benefits division within the human resource services department; this position requires strict confidentiality with sensitive employee information. They are required to educate, inform, and counsel employees regarding employee benefits, including medical, dental, and vision for a diverse employee population (i.e., faculty, staff, graduate students, etc.).
It will help if applicants get a bachelor's degree alongside prior experience in health insurance and services. Additionally, computer proficiency is also preferred.
Benefits Assistants in America make an average salary of $35,728 per year or $17 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $41,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $30,000 per year.
Benefits Assistant Overview
Working as a Benefits Assistant
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a benefits assistant. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.18 an hour? That's $35,728 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 5,300 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Benefits Assistant Do
There are certain skills that many benefits assistants have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed math skills, organizational skills and communication skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a benefits assistant, we found that a lot of resumes listed 8.5% of benefits assistants included human resources, while 7.1% of resumes included data entry, and 6.8% of resumes included open enrollment. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the benefits assistant job title. But what industry to start with? Most benefits assistants actually find jobs in the health care and finance industries.
How To Become a Benefits Assistant
If you're interested in becoming a benefits assistant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 48.7% of benefits assistants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 15.7% of benefits assistants have master's degrees. Even though most benefits assistants have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a benefits assistant. When we researched the most common majors for a benefits assistant, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on benefits assistant resumes include associate degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a benefits assistant. In fact, many benefits assistant jobs require experience in a role such as administrative assistant. Meanwhile, many benefits assistants also have previous career experience in roles such as human resources assistant or customer service representative.
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Benefits Assistant Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a benefits assistant can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as benefit specialist, progress to a title such as human resources generalist and then eventually end up with the title senior human resources manager.
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Average Salary for a Benefits Assistant
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Aldi Benefits Assistant Benefits Assistant | Aldi Aldi | 11/18/2020 11/18/2020 | $41,74011/18/2020 $41,740 |
Hiregy Benefits Assistant Benefits Assistant | Hiregy Hiregy | 10/19/2020 10/19/2020 | $35,47910/19/2020 $35,479 |
Robert Half Benefits Assistant Benefits Assistant | Robert Half Robert Half | 10/16/2020 10/16/2020 | $45,91410/16/2020 $45,914 |
The Door-A Center of Alternatives Temporary Benefits Assistant Temporary Benefits Assistant | The Door-A Center of Alternatives The Door-A Center of Alternatives | 09/16/2020 09/16/2020 | $41,74009/16/2020 $41,740 |
Aerotek Benefits Assistant at Benefits Assistant at | Aerotek Aerotek | 08/23/2020 08/23/2020 | $29,21808/23/2020 $29,218 |
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Top Colleges for Benefits Assistants
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
2. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
3. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Public
4. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
5. SUNY College at Oswego
Oswego, NY • Public
6. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
7. Baylor University
Waco, TX • Private
8. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
9. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
10. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Public
Top Skills For a Benefits Assistant
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 8.5% of benefits assistants listed human resources on their resume, but soft skills such as math skills and organizational skills are important as well.
- Human Resources, 8.5%
- Data Entry, 7.1%
- Open Enrollment, 6.8%
- Cobra, 5.9%
- Health Care, 5.7%
- Other Skills, 66.0% See All Benefits Assistant Skills
Best States For a Benefits Assistant
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a benefits assistant. The best states for people in this position are Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Washington, and Massachusetts. Benefits assistants make the most in Rhode Island with an average salary of $46,544. Whereas in New Hampshire and Washington, they would average $45,090 and $44,949, respectively. While benefits assistants would only make an average of $44,245 in Massachusetts, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Rhode Island
$46,545
Avg. Salary
2. Massachusetts
$44,246
Avg. Salary
3. Nevada
$41,298
Avg. Salary