Employee benefits director vs benefits manager

The differences between employee benefits directors and benefits managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an employee benefits director and a benefits manager. Additionally, an employee benefits director has an average salary of $94,698, which is higher than the $64,064 average annual salary of a benefits manager.

The top three skills for an employee benefits director include human resources, payroll and wellness programs. The most important skills for a benefits manager are HR, customer service, and HRIS.

Employee benefits director vs benefits manager overview

	Employee Benefits Director	Benefits Manager
Yearly salary	$94,698	$64,064
Hourly rate	$45.53	$30.80
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	14,578	11,164
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	6	6

Employee benefits director vs benefits manager salary

Employee benefits directors and benefits managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Employee Benefits Director	Benefits Manager
Average salary	$94,698	$64,064
Salary range	Between $60,000 And $149,000	Between $39,000 And $104,000
Highest paying City	-	Philadelphia, PA
Highest paying state	-	Pennsylvania
Best paying company	-	Microsoft
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between employee benefits director and benefits manager education

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

	Employee Benefits Director	Benefits Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Employee benefits director vs benefits manager demographics

Here are the differences between employee benefits directors' and benefits managers' demographics:

	Employee Benefits Director	Benefits Manager
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 45.8% Female, 54.2%	Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 8.3% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 8.2% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	35%	35%

Differences between employee benefits director and benefits manager duties and responsibilities

Employee benefits director example responsibilities.

Create reports using SQL database and manage reports, perform from internet-base tools for research projects need for client insight.
Interpret complex rules and laws for FMLA leave actions.
Dispatch FMLA forms for completion by employees and approve requests for leave.
Assist over 150 small businesses convert traditional insurance plans through ACA compliant programs.
Provide strategic human resource leadership to Sr. Management team for compensation, benefits and HRIS policies and programs.
Participate in a project management team that develop a dedicate ERISA trust outsourcing platform for the DTS program.

Benefits manager example responsibilities.

Lead a successful transition of payroll, time and labor, benefits and general ledger to PeopleSoft.
Collaborate with ADP to ensure system readiness and manage benefit communications.
Lead departmental PeopleSoft projects and initiatives; involve in systems testing when additional system upgrades are implemented.
Coordinate annual open enrollment, update benefits within HRIS, reconcile monthly statements and approve premium statements for payment.
Insure HIPPA compliance as it relates to payroll and human resources.
Create monthly charge back reports for FSA and all other benefits for finance.

Employee benefits director vs benefits manager skills

Common employee benefits director skills

Human Resources, 10%
Payroll, 6%
Wellness Programs, 6%
HIPAA, 5%
HRIS, 4%
Employee Engagement, 4%

Common benefits manager skills

HR, 10%
Customer Service, 7%
HRIS, 6%
HIPAA, 5%
Life Insurance, 5%
Open Enrollment, 5%

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Employee Benefits Director
Employee Benefits Director vs Benefits Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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