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The differences between compensation specialists 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 specialist and a retirement specialist. Additionally, a compensation specialist has an average salary of $67,722, which is higher than the $40,474 average annual salary of a retirement specialist.
The top three skills for a compensation specialist include human resources, compensation programs and customer service. The most important skills for a retirement specialist are life insurance, HR, and recordkeeping.
| Compensation Specialist | Retirement Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $67,722 | $40,474 |
| Hourly rate | $32.56 | $19.46 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 32,642 | 24,916 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A compensation specialist is responsible for evaluating the organization's benefits package for the employees, following the state regulations and legislation procedures. Compensation specialists identify the staff needs and develop opportunities that would maximize productivity and increase efficiency. They also analyze the market performance to adjust compensation rates according to roles as needed with the coordination of the finance department. A compensation specialist facilitates orientations for new programs and informs the employees about any changes in the payment system.
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 specialists and retirement specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Compensation Specialist | Retirement Specialist | |
| Average salary | $67,722 | $40,474 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $110,000 | Between $29,000 And $56,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Newark, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Amgen |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a compensation specialist and a retirement specialist in terms of educational background:
| Compensation Specialist | Retirement Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between compensation specialists' and retirement specialists' demographics:
| Compensation Specialist | Retirement Specialist | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 25.3% Female, 74.7% | Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 7.4% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | 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% |