Benefits counselor vs employee benefits coordinator

The differences between benefits counselors and employee benefits coordinators 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 counselor and an employee benefits coordinator. Additionally, a benefits counselor has an average salary of $72,268, which is higher than the $42,484 average annual salary of an employee benefits coordinator.

The top three skills for a benefits counselor include veterans, HR and open enrollment. The most important skills for an employee benefits coordinator are human resources, OSHA, and workers compensation.

Benefits counselor vs employee benefits coordinator overview

	Benefits Counselor	Employee Benefits Coordinator
Yearly salary	$72,268	$42,484
Hourly rate	$34.74	$20.43
Growth rate	7%	2%
Number of jobs	34,132	22,910
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	45	46
Years of experience	6	6

What does a benefits counselor do?

A benefits counselor manages the company or organization's employee benefits programs. Job responsibilities may include designing and administering the benefits program to ensure company and employee needs are met, as well as assisting and educating employees in benefits enrollment activities. This job requires a full understanding of health care benefits, comprising medical, dental, and life insurance, including knowledge of pertinent regulations and legislation. In addition, benefits counselors may also need to be knowledgeable and updated with other incentives such as pensions and stock ownership.

What does an employee benefits coordinator do?

An employee benefits coordinator works at a company's human resources department, where they are in charge of overseeing benefits programs and assisting employees in its enrollment procedures. Their responsibilities usually include answering inquiries, discussing benefits and retirement plans, helping employees process their requirements, and updating employees with any changes related to their applications. They must also liaise with benefits and insurance providers, assist the human resources staff in maintaining and updating employee records, and conduct regular reviews and assessments to ensure that all procedures adhere to standards and regulations.

Benefits counselor vs employee benefits coordinator salary

Benefits counselors and employee benefits coordinators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Benefits Counselor	Employee Benefits Coordinator
Average salary	$72,268	$42,484
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $118,000	Between $30,000 And $59,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between benefits counselor and employee benefits coordinator education

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

	Benefits Counselor	Employee Benefits Coordinator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Benefits counselor vs employee benefits coordinator demographics

Here are the differences between benefits counselors' and employee benefits coordinators' demographics:

	Benefits Counselor	Employee Benefits Coordinator
Average age	45	46
Gender ratio	Male, 34.3% Female, 65.7%	Male, 17.5% Female, 82.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 6.9% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 6.7% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	35%

Differences between benefits counselor and employee benefits coordinator duties and responsibilities

Benefits counselor example responsibilities.

Manage vendors for medical, dental, pharmacy, vision, HSA, long-term care and work-life resource and referral programs.
Utilize HIPAA confidentiality of all employee data.
Follow all HIPAA guidelines as required by law.
Follow HIPPA by verifying the member's identity.
Handle plan claims and appeals in ERISA and non-ERISA plans.
Simplify and improve the FMLA process, procedures, and paperwork.

Employee benefits coordinator example responsibilities.

Lead departmental PeopleSoft projects and initiatives; involve in systems testing when additional system upgrades are implemented.
Enter benefit enrollments and update internal and external HRIS.
Maintain and update employee records via HRIS system.
Calculate hourly employees and process payroll through outside service ADP.
Process release of information requests according to company and HIPAA policy.
Assist with educating employees with the leave of absence process for FMLA.

Benefits counselor vs employee benefits coordinator skills

Common benefits counselor skills

Veterans, 20%
HR, 12%
Open Enrollment, 11%
Annuities, 9%
Customer Service, 5%
Term Disability, 3%

Common employee benefits coordinator skills

Human Resources, 11%
OSHA, 9%
Workers Compensation, 8%
PowerPoint, 8%
Background Checks, 7%
Cobra, 6%

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Benefits Counselor vs Employee Benefits Coordinator

Updated January 8, 2025

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