Employee benefits specialist vs specialist

The differences between employee benefits specialists and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an employee benefits specialist, becoming a specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a specialist has an average salary of $58,013, 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 specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.

Employee benefits specialist vs specialist overview

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Specialist
Yearly salary	$45,893	$58,013
Hourly rate	$22.06	$27.89
Growth rate	7%	10%
Number of jobs	18,644	358,433
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	45	42
Years of experience	6	2

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 They must work with database systems to maintain digital files while removing and destroying outdated or obsolete files.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 specialist do?

Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.

Employee benefits specialist vs specialist salary

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

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Specialist
Average salary	$45,893	$58,013
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $67,000	Between $32,000 And $104,000
Highest paying City	Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ	Jersey City, NJ
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New Jersey
Best paying company	RSM US	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Professional	-

Differences between employee benefits specialist and specialist education

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

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Employee benefits specialist vs specialist demographics

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

	Employee Benefits Specialist	Specialist
Average age	45	42
Gender ratio	Male, 28.1% Female, 71.9%	Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5%
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, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	11%

Differences between employee benefits specialist and specialist 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.

Specialist example responsibilities.

Create, manage, and assist users with SharePoint sites.
Manage an on-site IRB and company good clinical practice (GCP) inspection.
Manage SharePoint sites by creating, editing, and customizing company sites, libraries and security.
Manage the building of accounts, assigning of static IP's, and scheduling of business class installations.
Convert servers from UNIX to Linux, all hardware diagnostics and repair including printers/plotters/desktops etc.
Follow safety procedures such as maintenance of all equipment (Telxon scanners, terminals and ladders).

Employee benefits specialist vs specialist skills

Common employee benefits specialist skills

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

Common specialist skills

Patients, 15%
Customer Service, 11%
Work Ethic, 5%
Patient Care, 4%
Exceptional Client, 4%
Troubleshoot, 4%

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Employee Benefits Specialist
Employee Benefits Specialist vs Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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