Employee benefits specialist vs benefits consultant

The differences between employee benefits specialists and benefits consultants 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 specialist and a benefits consultant. Additionally, a benefits consultant has an average salary of $79,068, which is higher than the $45,893 average annual salary of an employee benefits specialist.

The top three skills for an employee benefits specialist include RFP, health benefits and cobra. The most important skills for a benefits consultant are HR, customer service, and life insurance.

Employee benefits specialist vs benefits consultant overview

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Benefits Consultant
Yearly salary	$45,893	$79,068
Hourly rate	$22.06	$38.01
Growth rate	7%	2%
Number of jobs	18,644	19,308
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	45	46
Years of experience	6	6

What does an employee benefits specialist do?

Document clerks are employees who are responsible for tracking and controlling technical documents according to the business standards of an organization. These clerks are required to scan and photocopy business-related documents such as client files, correspondence, and company records. They must work with database systems to maintain digital files while removing and destroying outdated or obsolete files. Document clerks must also verify information in company documents to ensure that the information of clients is correct and resent in all documents.

What does a benefits consultant do?

Benefits consultants are executives who carry out many services for individuals and businesses. The consultants draft and organize policies within the organization. They handle vendors and manage the renewal of negotiations of HMO plans. It is their job to establish agency relationships with marketing representatives. They coordinate programs that involve self-funded or administered long-term and short-term disability, life insurance, and a cafeteria plan. Also, they prepare enterprises to meet health care law changes.

Employee benefits specialist vs benefits consultant salary

Employee benefits specialists and benefits consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Benefits Consultant
Average salary	$45,893	$79,068
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $67,000	Between $51,000 And $121,000
Highest paying City	Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New York
Best paying company	RSM US	BMO Capital Markets
Best paying industry	Professional	Manufacturing

Differences between employee benefits specialist and benefits consultant education

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

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Benefits Consultant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Employee benefits specialist vs benefits consultant demographics

Here are the differences between employee benefits specialists' and benefits consultants' demographics:

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Benefits Consultant
Average age	45	46
Gender ratio	Male, 28.1% Female, 71.9%	Male, 46.7% Female, 53.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 7.7% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 8.0% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	35%

Differences between employee benefits specialist and benefits consultant duties and responsibilities

Employee benefits specialist example responsibilities.

Manage submission process of all documents to the IRS for approval.
Manage newly trusteed and terminate pension plans to ensure termination complies with ERISA.
Manage payroll deductions, responsible for monthly insurance premium payments, and coordinate/communicate annual open enrollment.
Account coordinator for health, dental, fsa, hsa, supplemental coverages.
Process and maintain FSA, HSA, and HRA contributions, deductions, and reimbursements.
Create new HIPAA privacy compliance plan.

Benefits consultant example responsibilities.

Manage benefits for fully insure medical/dental plans with life, long-term disability, and FSA accounts.
Manage annual non-discrimination testing, audit and IRS filings for qualify retirement plan, working with external vendors.
Manage vendors for medical, dental, pharmacy, vision, HSA, long-term care and work-life resource and referral programs.
Manage several SDLC phases for enterprise systems used by state government agencies to perform environmental and environmental management.
Provide SharePoint development and administration, budget and financial reporting; manage invoicing; and develop training manuals and user guides.
Coach clients and provide orientation about cobra act.

Employee benefits specialist vs benefits consultant skills

Common employee benefits specialist skills

RFP, 13%
Health Benefits, 10%
Cobra, 6%
Human Resources, 6%
HIPAA, 5%
HRIS, 4%

Common benefits consultant skills

HR, 10%
Customer Service, 8%
Life Insurance, 7%
Strong Analytical, 6%
Health Insurance, 5%
Client Relationships, 5%

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Employee Benefits Specialist
Employee Benefits Specialist vs Benefits Consultant

Updated January 8, 2025

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