Benefits & payroll administrator vs payroll administrator

The differences between benefits & payroll administrators and payroll administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a benefits & payroll administrator, becoming a payroll administrator takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a benefits & payroll administrator has an average salary of $50,662, which is higher than the $46,596 average annual salary of a payroll administrator.

The top three skills for a benefits & payroll administrator include human resources, HRIS and cobra. The most important skills for a payroll administrator are customer service, data entry, and payroll system.

Benefits & payroll administrator vs payroll administrator overview

	Benefits & Payroll Administrator	Payroll Administrator
Yearly salary	$50,662	$46,596
Hourly rate	$24.36	$22.40
Growth rate	7%	-3%
Number of jobs	61,356	55,490
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age	45	48
Years of experience	6	4

What does a benefits & payroll administrator do?

The Benefits and Payroll Administrator manages the company's payroll, ensuring work benefits and employee documents are secure. The administrator also delivers employees' issues and concerns to the company's proper channels. This position also helps in the audit of the company and ensures compliance with state and federal regulations. This administrative position requires bookkeeping knowledge, a bachelor's degree, and experience in using spreadsheets and accounting software.

What does a payroll administrator do?

A payroll administrator is responsible for processing the wages of employees in a company or organization. Aside from issuing payments, it is also the payroll administrator's task to audit, process taxes and other deductions, keep and maintain an organized record of data, respond to inquiries and resolve issues, and tally employee work hours. Furthermore, a payroll administrator needs to have efficient attention to detail as most of the tasks require accuracy and speed. It is also essential to communicate and coordinate with team members at all times.

Benefits & payroll administrator vs payroll administrator salary

Benefits & payroll administrators and payroll administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Benefits & Payroll Administrator	Payroll Administrator
Average salary	$50,662	$46,596
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $68,000	Between $33,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City	San Jose, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Maine
Best paying company	HGA	Northern Trust
Best paying industry	Professional	Construction

Differences between benefits & payroll administrator and payroll administrator education

There are a few differences between a benefits & payroll administrator and a payroll administrator in terms of educational background:

	Benefits & Payroll Administrator	Payroll Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Benefits & payroll administrator vs payroll administrator demographics

Here are the differences between benefits & payroll administrators' and payroll administrators' demographics:

	Benefits & Payroll Administrator	Payroll Administrator
Average age	45	48
Gender ratio	Male, 11.7% Female, 88.3%	Male, 16.0% Female, 84.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 6.2% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	10%

Differences between benefits & payroll administrator and payroll administrator duties and responsibilities

Benefits & payroll administrator example responsibilities.

Manage HRIS, recruiting, training, and time and attendance programs as well as trouble shooting.
Create reports using SQL database and manage reports, perform from internet-base tools for research projects need for client insight.
Ensure accuracy of all benefit enrollments and life status changes record in the HRIS to provide vendors with accurate eligibility information.
Complete weekly internal payroll reports and fund employee accounts (HSA and 401K).
Process benefit elections, merit raises, salary changes, garnishments, cobra and severance.
Administer employee benefits programs including group medical, dental, vision, group life and FSA.

Payroll administrator example responsibilities.

Manage year-end W2 audit/corrections and distribution.
Manage employee direct deposit accounts and initiate ACH reversals when necessary.
Manage all requisitions using PeopleSoft for the administrator and all assign departments.
Maintain KRONOS timekeeping system, review, sort and distribute employee upload file and multiple misc.
Maintain and monitor PTO balances and provide executive reports relate to vacation accruals.
Assist in implementing and training of MyTime and Lawson systems.

Benefits & payroll administrator vs payroll administrator skills

Common benefits & payroll administrator skills

Human Resources, 6%
HRIS, 6%
Cobra, 6%
Payroll System, 4%
Open Enrollment, 4%
ADP Payroll, 4%

Common payroll administrator skills

Customer Service, 9%
Data Entry, 7%
Payroll System, 6%
Human Resources, 5%
Payroll Data, 4%
Process Payroll, 4%

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Benefits & Payroll Administrator
Benefits & Payroll Administrator vs Payroll Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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