How To Become A Benefits Clerk: What It Is and Career Path

What is a benefits clerk and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a benefits clerk. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.75 an hour? That's $34,841 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -3% and produce -38,500 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreBenefits ClerkUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,841

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.6

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.52%

Asian 5.94%

Black or African American 10.55%

Hispanic or Latino 17.73%

Unknown 6.06%

White 58.21%

Gender

female 86.65%

male 13.35%

Age - 49

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 49

Stress level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a benefits clerk

Explore benefits clerk education requirements

Most common benefits clerk degrees

Bachelor's

43.8 %

Associate

25.8 %

High School Diploma

15.2 %

Start to develop specific benefits clerk skills

Skills	Percentages
Payroll System	16.86%
Data Entry	8.26%
Open Enrollment	7.48%
Cobra	6.93%
HRIS	5.22%

Complete relevant benefits clerk training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New benefits clerks learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a benefits clerk based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real benefits clerk resumes.

Research benefits clerk duties and responsibilities

Examine HMO documents to verify eligibility to process or reject into or from a manage care plan when necessary.
Enter employee data in HRIS system.
Used ADP HR/B software for benefits enrollment and reports.
Maintain retirement (401k) plan, FMLA and personnel records.

Prepare your benefits clerk resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your benefits clerk resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a benefits clerk resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable benefits clerk resume templates

Build a professional benefits clerk resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your benefits clerk resume.