Employee benefits specialist vs benefits manager

The differences between employee benefits specialists 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 specialist and a benefits manager. Additionally, a benefits manager has an average salary of $64,064, 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 manager are HR, customer service, and HRIS.

Employee benefits specialist vs benefits manager overview

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Benefits Manager
Yearly salary	$45,893	$64,064
Hourly rate	$22.06	$30.80
Growth rate	7%	2%
Number of jobs	18,644	11,164
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
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 They must work with database systems to maintain digital files while removing and destroying outdated or obsolete files.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 manager do?

A benefits manager is primarily in charge of overseeing and handling a company's benefits programs and projects for employees. Their responsibilities revolve around coordinating with human resources to gather accurate data, improve existing benefits programs, and creating new ones in adherence to the company's policies and regulations. A benefits manager may also liaise with external agencies, develop activities for employee welfare, and resolve any issues regarding the benefits programs. Furthermore, they may perform clerical tasks such as producing progress reports and presentations, manage budgets, and maintain records of all transactions.

Employee benefits specialist vs benefits manager salary

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

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Benefits Manager
Average salary	$45,893	$64,064
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $67,000	Between $39,000 And $104,000
Highest paying City	Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ	Philadelphia, PA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Pennsylvania
Best paying company	RSM US	Microsoft
Best paying industry	Professional	Technology

Differences between employee benefits specialist and benefits manager education

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

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

Employee benefits specialist vs benefits manager demographics

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

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Benefits Manager
Average age	45	46
Gender ratio	Male, 28.1% Female, 71.9%	Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7%
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, 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	9%	35%

Differences between employee benefits specialist and benefits manager 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 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 specialist vs benefits manager skills

Common employee benefits specialist skills

RFP, 13%
Health Benefits, 10%
Cobra, 6%
Human Resources, 6%
HIPAA, 5%
HRIS, 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 Specialist
Employee Benefits Specialist vs Benefits Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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