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The differences between compensation analysts and retirement specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a compensation analyst and a retirement specialist. Additionally, a compensation analyst has an average salary of $66,487, which is higher than the $40,474 average annual salary of a retirement specialist.
The top three skills for a compensation analyst include HR, compensation programs and HRIS. The most important skills for a retirement specialist are life insurance, HR, and recordkeeping.
| Compensation Analyst | Retirement Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $66,487 | $40,474 |
| Hourly rate | $31.96 | $19.46 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 19,344 | 24,916 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Compensation analysts are responsible for managing company compensation programs by evaluating and analyzing employees' salaries, assist the planning and development of a new and modified sales compensation plan, as well as managing sales compensation short-term incentive programs. The compensation programs are used to improve hiring and boost employee retention. These analysts are skilled and knowledgeable about managing labor costs, benefits structures, and compensation analysis to determine if the employees are fairly compensated.
A retirement specialist is responsible for designing and implementing retirement packages such as benefits, savings, profit sharing, and pensions to the employees of a certain company. They work together with the human resource department to ensure that all retirees can access their benefits and pensions. Their duties and responsibilities include explaining the different retirement packages to the potential beneficiaries and working with HR to resolve any issues.
Compensation analysts and retirement specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Compensation Analyst | Retirement Specialist | |
| Average salary | $66,487 | $40,474 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $90,000 | Between $29,000 And $56,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | Newark, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Meta | Amgen |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a compensation analyst and a retirement specialist in terms of educational background:
| Compensation Analyst | Retirement Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between compensation analysts' and retirement specialists' demographics:
| Compensation Analyst | Retirement Specialist | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.2% Female, 63.8% | Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 7.7% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 7.7% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |