Benefits consultant vs employee benefits manager

The differences between benefits consultants and employee benefits managers 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 consultant and an employee benefits manager. Additionally, an employee benefits manager has an average salary of $85,621, which is higher than the $79,068 average annual salary of a benefits consultant.

The top three skills for a benefits consultant include HR, customer service and life insurance. The most important skills for an employee benefits manager are customer service, HR, and client relationships.

Benefits consultant vs employee benefits manager overview

	Benefits Consultant	Employee Benefits Manager
Yearly salary	$79,068	$85,621
Hourly rate	$38.01	$41.16
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	19,308	13,906
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	6	6

What does a benefits consultant do?

Benefits consultants are executives who carry out many services for individuals and businesses. The consultants draft and organize policies within the organization. They handle vendors and manage the renewal of negotiations of HMO plans. It is their job to establish agency relationships with marketing representatives. They coordinate programs that involve self-funded or administered long-term and short-term disability, life insurance, and a cafeteria plan. Also, they prepare enterprises to meet health care law changes.

What does an employee benefits manager do?

An employee benefits manager is responsible for leading the human resources department in establishing the appropriate benefits package and compensation for the employees according to industry regulations and business requirements. Employee benefits managers facilitate the programs and orientations in sharing retirement plans, insurance policies, and other related packages across the organization. They also assist the employee benefits staff in resolving issues and handling disputes from employees' concerns. An employee benefits manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills, as well as extensive knowledge of the human resources practices to build recommendations that would support the employees' needs and welfare.

Benefits consultant vs employee benefits manager salary

Benefits consultants and employee benefits managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Benefits Consultant	Employee Benefits Manager
Average salary	$79,068	$85,621
Salary range	Between $51,000 And $121,000	Between $53,000 And $137,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New York	New Jersey
Best paying company	BMO Capital Markets	DLA Piper
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Finance

Differences between benefits consultant and employee benefits manager education

There are a few differences between a benefits consultant and an employee benefits manager in terms of educational background:

	Benefits Consultant	Employee Benefits Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Benefits consultant vs employee benefits manager demographics

Here are the differences between benefits consultants' and employee benefits managers' demographics:

	Benefits Consultant	Employee Benefits Manager
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 46.7% Female, 53.3%	Male, 31.7% Female, 68.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 8.0% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 8.2% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	35%	35%

Differences between benefits consultant and employee benefits manager duties and responsibilities

Benefits consultant example responsibilities.

Manage benefits for fully insure medical/dental plans with life, long-term disability, and FSA accounts.
Manage annual non-discrimination testing, audit and IRS filings for qualify retirement plan, working with external vendors.
Manage vendors for medical, dental, pharmacy, vision, HSA, long-term care and work-life resource and referral programs.
Manage several SDLC phases for enterprise systems used by state government agencies to perform environmental and environmental management.
Provide SharePoint development and administration, budget and financial reporting; manage invoicing; and develop training manuals and user guides.
Coach clients and provide orientation about cobra act.

Employee benefits manager example responsibilities.

Lead the RFP process to select a new global payroll provider; balancing the needs of all global stakeholders.
Create reports using SQL database and manage reports, perform from internet-base tools for research projects need for client insight.
Advise executive committee on design of benefit plans and compliance with applicable IRC and ERISA regulations and DOL guidelines.
Upload electronic data interchanges, for FSA, H.S.A , 403b , 457b.
Create and maintain updated ACA relate employer require reports.
Drive full replacement CDHP plans with HSA and wellness initiatives.

Benefits consultant vs employee benefits manager skills

Common benefits consultant skills

HR, 10%
Customer Service, 8%
Life Insurance, 7%
Strong Analytical, 6%
Health Insurance, 5%
Client Relationships, 5%

Common employee benefits manager skills

Customer Service, 13%
HR, 9%
Client Relationships, 6%
Senior Level Management, 6%
Due Diligence, 5%
Cross-Selling, 5%

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Benefits Consultant
Benefits Consultant vs Employee Benefits Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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