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.
Benefits consultant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real benefits consultant resumes:
- 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.
- Remain knowledgeable and current on industry trends and ACA regulatory changes.
- Prepare businesses to meet changes in health care laws for ACA compliance.
- Set up cobra for third party administrator and communicate info to all parties.
- Call volume average 110 daily, four minute resolution standard with 24 hr.
- Collaborate with HRIS team to execute a flawless enrollment while system upgrade are in progress.
- Serve as liaison between vendor partners and HRIS to ensure interface files meet documented specifications and requirements.
- Outline and deliver training to employees on ERISA compliance; retirement plan document design and development of audit guidelines.
- Collaborate with compliance specialists to review and prepare client documents, policies and administrative practices to ensure compliance with HIPAA.
- Design layout of the page including graphics, original HTML coding and conversion of existing library system documents to HTML.
Benefits consultant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Benefits Consultants are proficient in HR, Customer Service, and Life Insurance. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Business skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Benefits Consultants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- HR, 10%
Provided functional expertise to ensure HR System and interface files met requirements and specifications.
- Customer Service, 8%
Provide exceptional customer service to internal and external customers; resolve any customer requests in a timely and accurate manner.
- Life Insurance, 7%
Advised individual clients on life insurance, disability, and business continuation insurances.
- Strong Analytical, 6%
Risk management consulting requiring strong analytical knowledge and attention to detail in order to comply with federal and state policies/procedures.
- Health Insurance, 5%
Delivered presentations and conducted interactive workshops for labor/management groups on health insurance issues and new health benefit programs.
- Client Relationships, 5%
Create and maintain follow-up and activity schedules to efficiently maintain established and prospective client relationships.
Common skills that a benefits consultant uses to do their job include "hr," "customer service," and "life insurance." You can find details on the most important benefits consultant responsibilities below.
Leadership skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a benefits consultant to have is leadership skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "compensation and benefits managers coordinate the activities of their staff and administer compensation and benefits programs, ensuring that the work is completed accurately and on schedule." Benefits consultants often use leadership skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provided corporate leadership while working with hr departments to develop employee wellness programs responding to costly health care utilization trends. "
Business skills. Many benefits consultant duties rely on business skills. "these managers oversee a budget, build a case for their recommendations, and understand how compensation and benefits plans affect an organization’s finances.," so a benefits consultant will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways benefits consultant responsibilities rely on business skills: "prepared businesses to meet changes in health care laws for aca compliance. "
Analytical skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of benefits consultants is analytical skills. This skill is critical to many everyday benefits consultant duties, as "compensation and benefits managers analyze data on wages and salaries and the cost of benefits, and they assess and devise programs that best fit an organization and its employees." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "identified new project work for existing clients including actuarial pricing, aca impact modeling, and data analytics. "
Communication skills. benefits consultant responsibilities often require "communication skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "compensation and benefits managers direct staff, give presentations, and work with colleagues." This resume example shows what benefits consultants do with communication skills on a typical day: "developed benefit communications and hr training materials for united international flight attendants. "
The three companies that hire the most benefits consultants are:
- Deloitte48 benefits consultants jobs
- Marsh & McLennan Companies16 benefits consultants jobs
- GoHealth16 benefits consultants jobs
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Compare different benefits consultants
Benefits consultant vs. Plan administrator
A plan administrator's duties depend on their line of work or place of employment. Still, they typically include understanding the client or the project's needs, developing plans, performing research and analysis, liaising with internal and external parties, setting goals, establishing guidelines and timelines, and developing strategies to optimize procedures. They must also respond to issues and concerns, resolving them efficiently. Moreover, as a plan administrator, it is essential to monitor the daily operations and manage staff, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between benefits consultants and plan administrator. For instance, benefits consultant responsibilities require skills such as "customer service," "health insurance," "excellent interpersonal," and "account management." Whereas a plan administrator is skilled in "plan administration," "database," "excellent organizational," and "powerpoint." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Plan administrators really shine in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $81,211. Comparatively, benefits consultants tend to make the most money in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $78,616.The education levels that plan administrators earn slightly differ from benefits consultants. In particular, plan administrators are 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a benefits consultant. Additionally, they're 0.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Benefits consultant vs. Welfare manager
A compensation director spearheads and oversees an organization or company's compensation programs, ensuring they adhere to state and federal standards. They primarily set objectives and guidelines among their staff, delegate responsibilities, facilitate research and assessments, and develop strategies to optimize compensation operations. They also lead the development of employee benefits, including salary structures, retirement plans, and insurance policies. Additionally, as a director, it is essential to empower staff to reach goals while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that benefits consultant responsibilities requires skills like "hr," "customer service," "life insurance," and "strong analytical." But a welfare manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "leave administration," "foster care," "human resources," and "welfare programs."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Welfare managers tend to reach similar levels of education than benefits consultants. In fact, they're 3.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Benefits consultant vs. Compensation director
An HRIS manager or commonly known as a human resource information system manager, is responsible for supporting and maintaining the company's HR systems. They primarily perform the complex task of making sure all HR systems are compliant with labor regulations and regularly updated. Typically, they oversee employee data information, including processing, HR-related report generation, system upgrades, and maintaining data integrity. They supervise the implementation and daily HRIS operation. Moreover, this job requires excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, benefits consultants are more likely to have skills like "hr," "customer service," "strong analytical," and "health insurance." But a compensation director is more likely to have skills like "human resources," "healthcare," "base pay," and "compensation strategy."
Compensation directors earn the highest salary when working in the professional industry, where they receive an average salary of $111,148. Comparatively, benefits consultants have the highest earning potential in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $78,616.When it comes to education, compensation directors tend to earn higher degree levels compared to benefits consultants. In fact, they're 9.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Benefits consultant vs. Hris manager
Even though a few skill sets overlap between benefits consultants and hris managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a benefits consultant might have more use for skills like "hr," "customer service," "life insurance," and "health insurance." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of hris managers require skills like "project management," "business processes," "performance management," and "process improvement. "
Hris managers reach higher levels of education compared to benefits consultants, in general. The difference is that they're 5.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of benefits consultant
Updated January 8, 2025
