Benefits clerk vs payroll processor

The differences between benefits clerks and payroll processors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a benefits clerk and a payroll processor. Additionally, a payroll processor has an average salary of $44,307, which is higher than the $34,841 average annual salary of a benefits clerk.

The top three skills for a benefits clerk include payroll system, data entry and open enrollment. The most important skills for a payroll processor are customer service, data entry, and ADP.

Benefits clerk vs payroll processor overview

	Benefits Clerk	Payroll Processor
Yearly salary	$34,841	$44,307
Hourly rate	$16.75	$21.30
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	75,454	11,795
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

Benefits clerk vs payroll processor salary

Benefits clerks and payroll processors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Benefits Clerk	Payroll Processor
Average salary	$34,841	$44,307
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $44,000	Between $33,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	Los Angeles, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Minnesota	New Jersey
Best paying company	Monarch Casino & Resort	Venable
Best paying industry	Government	Finance

Differences between benefits clerk and payroll processor education

There are a few differences between a benefits clerk and a payroll processor in terms of educational background:

	Benefits Clerk	Payroll Processor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Benefits clerk vs payroll processor demographics

Here are the differences between benefits clerks' and payroll processors' demographics:

	Benefits Clerk	Payroll Processor
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 13.3% Female, 86.7%	Male, 16.1% Female, 83.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 5.9% White, 58.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 6.0% White, 58.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between benefits clerk and payroll processor duties and responsibilities

Benefits clerk example 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.
Monitor FMLA, CFRA, PDL, and personal leave of absence and premiums payments.
Update and maintain benefits data in the HRIS system to ensure accuracy and integrity of employee information.

Payroll processor example responsibilities.

Manage PTO and cafeteria benefits program.
Assist KRONOS editors as need in the KRONOS timekeeping system.
Input, verify and correct time records using the KRONOS and Lawson software.
Test new software upgrades to payroll HRIS system before implementing to payroll team.
Process, balance and facilitate the transmission of incoming and outgoing ACH files.
Input hours into PeopleSoft and balance batches for assign pay groups according to establish schedule.

Benefits clerk vs payroll processor skills

Common benefits clerk skills

Payroll System, 17%
Data Entry, 8%
Open Enrollment, 7%
Cobra, 7%
HRIS, 5%
Human Resources, 5%

Common payroll processor skills

Customer Service, 12%
Data Entry, 9%
ADP, 5%
Payroll System, 5%
Kronos, 5%
Human Resources, 4%