Employee benefits specialist vs compensation analyst

The differences between employee benefits specialists and compensation analysts 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 compensation analyst. Additionally, a compensation analyst has an average salary of $66,487, 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 compensation analyst are HR, compensation programs, and HRIS.

Employee benefits specialist vs compensation analyst overview

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Compensation Analyst
Yearly salary	$45,893	$66,487
Hourly rate	$22.06	$31.96
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	18,644	19,344
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
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 They must work with database systems to maintain digital files while removing and destroying outdated or obsolete files.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 compensation analyst do?

Compensation analysts are responsible for managing company compensation programs by evaluating and analyzing employees' salaries, assist the planning and development of a new and modified sales compensation plan, as well as managing sales compensation short-term incentive programs. The compensation programs are used to improve hiring and boost employee retention. These analysts are skilled and knowledgeable about managing labor costs, benefits structures, and compensation analysis to determine if the employees are fairly compensated.

Employee benefits specialist vs compensation analyst salary

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

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Compensation Analyst
Average salary	$45,893	$66,487
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $67,000	Between $48,000 And $90,000
Highest paying City	Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ	Sacramento, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Washington
Best paying company	RSM US	Meta
Best paying industry	Professional	Technology

Differences between employee benefits specialist and compensation analyst education

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

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Compensation Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Employee benefits specialist vs compensation analyst demographics

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

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Compensation Analyst
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 28.1% Female, 71.9%	Male, 36.2% Female, 63.8%
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, 10.5% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 7.7% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between employee benefits specialist and compensation analyst 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.

Compensation analyst example responsibilities.

Manage vendor relationships with fiscal oversight, and ongoing cost management.
Manage long-term incentive plan administration including SARP and stock option granting programs (LTI).
Create and manage communication materials via PowerPoint publish to sales organization.
Report and manage company healthcare budget and direct all vendor relationships.
Manage special projects, develop senior level presentations and handle communications on behalf of SVP
Provide oversight of sales compensation short-term incentive programs.

Employee benefits specialist vs compensation analyst skills

Common employee benefits specialist skills

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

Common compensation analyst skills

HR, 12%
Compensation Programs, 7%
HRIS, 6%
PowerPoint, 5%
Data Analysis, 5%
Customer Service, 4%

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Employee Benefits Specialist
Employee Benefits Specialist vs Compensation Analyst

Updated January 8, 2025

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