Payroll technician vs benefits clerk

The differences between payroll technicians and benefits clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a payroll technician and a benefits clerk. Additionally, a payroll technician has an average salary of $44,971, which is higher than the $34,841 average annual salary of a benefits clerk.

The top three skills for a payroll technician include payroll system, human resources and data entry. The most important skills for a benefits clerk are payroll system, data entry, and open enrollment.

Payroll technician vs benefits clerk overview

	Payroll Technician	Benefits Clerk
Yearly salary	$44,971	$34,841
Hourly rate	$21.62	$16.75
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	11,297	75,454
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

Payroll technician vs benefits clerk salary

Payroll technicians and benefits clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Payroll Technician	Benefits Clerk
Average salary	$44,971	$34,841
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $66,000	Between $27,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Los Angeles, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Minnesota
Best paying company	InfosysPublicService	Monarch Casino & Resort
Best paying industry	Finance	Government

Differences between payroll technician and benefits clerk education

There are a few differences between a payroll technician and a benefits clerk in terms of educational background:

	Payroll Technician	Benefits Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Payroll technician vs benefits clerk demographics

Here are the differences between payroll technicians' and benefits clerks' demographics:

	Payroll Technician	Benefits Clerk
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 19.1% Female, 80.9%	Male, 13.3% Female, 86.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.9% Asian, 6.1% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 5.9% White, 58.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between payroll technician and benefits clerk duties and responsibilities

Payroll technician example responsibilities.

Provide Kronos and Lawson support to management concerning departmental payroll and timekeeping.
Evaluate time cards through KRONOS for accuracy.
Transmit and process payroll for hourly/shift employees on a bi-weekly basis with the use of ADP software.
Process payroll from the loading of time and attendance files to submitting payment data to ADP for check printing.
Provide payroll calculation and leave posting input for computer processing.
Participate in the successful implementation of PeopleSoft from an in-house system.

Benefits clerk example responsibilities.

Examine HMO documents to verify eligibility to process or reject into or from a manage care plan when necessary.
Enter employee data in HRIS system.
Used ADP HR/B software for benefits enrollment and reports.
Maintain retirement (401k) plan, FMLA and personnel records.
Monitor FMLA, CFRA, PDL, and personal leave of absence and premiums payments.
Update and maintain benefits data in the HRIS system to ensure accuracy and integrity of employee information.

Payroll technician vs benefits clerk skills

Common payroll technician skills

Payroll System, 9%
Human Resources, 7%
Data Entry, 6%
Life Insurance, 5%
Kronos, 4%
Payroll Data, 4%

Common benefits clerk skills

Payroll System, 17%
Data Entry, 8%
Open Enrollment, 7%
Cobra, 7%
HRIS, 5%
Human Resources, 5%