Employee benefits specialist vs benefits representative

The differences between employee benefits specialists and benefits representatives 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 representative. Additionally, an employee benefits specialist has an average salary of $45,893, which is higher than the $38,694 average annual salary of a benefits representative.

The top three skills for an employee benefits specialist include RFP, health benefits and cobra. The most important skills for a benefits representative are customer service, patients, and insurance coverage.

Employee benefits specialist vs benefits representative overview

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Benefits Representative
Yearly salary	$45,893	$38,694
Hourly rate	$22.06	$18.60
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	18,644	13,058
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	45	45
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 They must work with database systems to maintain digital files while removing and destroying outdated or obsolete files.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 representative do?

A benefits representative is responsible for facilitating and disseminating information about benefits programs and policies across all employees in the company. Benefits representatives respond to the employees' inquiries and concerns of benefits processes, update their benefits information, and resolve discrepancies and disputes. They also support the company's initiatives on developing new benefits plans, implementing campaigns, as well as writing application guides for reference. A benefits representative should have excellent communication and organizational skills as they also conduct surveys to check the efficiency and effectiveness of the benefits programs and adjusting procedures as needed.

Employee benefits specialist vs benefits representative salary

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

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Benefits Representative
Average salary	$45,893	$38,694
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $67,000	Between $29,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New Jersey
Best paying company	RSM US	BlackRock
Best paying industry	Professional	Finance

Differences between employee benefits specialist and benefits representative education

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

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Benefits Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Employee benefits specialist vs benefits representative demographics

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

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Benefits Representative
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 28.1% Female, 71.9%	Male, 30.3% Female, 69.7%
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, 11.0% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between employee benefits specialist and benefits representative 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 representative example responsibilities.

Determine eligibility and process FMLA initial notification letters for employees which lead to immediate use of benefits.
Service consumers inbound inquires via phone and live chat regarding HRA, FSA and HSA accounts.
Work with clients to ensure ACA compliance.
Train in and apply HIPAA privacy and security regulations and maintain strict confidentiality of claims.
Contact any FSA or HRA groups concerning any outstanding payments for claims and/or admin fee invoices.
Produce benefit-related reports from HRIS.

Employee benefits specialist vs benefits representative skills

Common employee benefits specialist skills

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

Common benefits representative skills

Customer Service, 18%
Patients, 18%
Insurance Coverage, 8%
Medicaid, 6%
Insurance Carriers, 5%
Term Disability, 4%

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Employee Benefits Specialist
Employee Benefits Specialist vs Benefits Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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