Pension administrator vs benefit specialist

The differences between pension administrators and benefit specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a pension administrator and a benefit specialist. Additionally, a pension administrator has an average salary of $57,547, which is higher than the $48,756 average annual salary of a benefit specialist.

The top three skills for a pension administrator include customer service, plan administration and IRS. The most important skills for a benefit specialist are customer service, HR, and patients.

Pension administrator vs benefit specialist overview

	Pension Administrator	Benefit Specialist
Yearly salary	$57,547	$48,756
Hourly rate	$27.67	$23.44
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	50,422	31,663
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	6	6

Pension administrator vs benefit specialist salary

Pension administrators and benefit specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Pension Administrator	Benefit Specialist
Average salary	$57,547	$48,756
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $87,000	Between $34,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	Needham, MA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Connecticut
Best paying company	Kerkering Barberio	Qorvo
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between pension administrator and benefit specialist education

There are a few differences between a pension administrator and a benefit specialist in terms of educational background:

	Pension Administrator	Benefit Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Pension administrator vs benefit specialist demographics

Here are the differences between pension administrators' and benefit specialists' demographics:

	Pension Administrator	Benefit Specialist
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 35.7% Female, 64.3%	Male, 21.1% Female, 78.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 7.9% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 7.5% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between pension administrator and benefit specialist duties and responsibilities

Pension administrator example responsibilities.

Lead special project team construct to interpret the initial impact of ERISA legislation on company pension operations.
Participate in establishing and testing pension plans on PeopleSoft to automate applicable calculations.
Assist in plan design issues that comply with client needs and ERISA and DOL laws.
Train in filing of 5500 tax returns with the DOL.
Review trend analysis for fail ACP and ADP tests.
Conduct top heavy, ADP, and ACP compliance testing of define contribution plans.

Benefit specialist example responsibilities.

Manage various employee program such as life, medical, dental pension, and HSA accounts.
Examine HMO documents to verify eligibility to process or reject into or from a manage care plan when necessary.
Input daily time and PTO, manage benefits, report new hires, input sales, oversee accounts receivable.
Create reports using SQL database and manage reports, perform from internet-base tools for research projects need for client insight.
Implement new vendor for FSA administration and manage outstanding issues through continuous follow-up and vendor accountability.
Analyze, process and manage FMLA claims to determine eligibility and certification in compliance with state and federal regulations.

Pension administrator vs benefit specialist skills

Common pension administrator skills

Customer Service, 11%
Plan Administration, 9%
IRS, 7%
Financial Statements, 7%
ERISA, 7%
DOL, 5%

Common benefit specialist skills

Customer Service, 13%
HR, 8%
Patients, 5%
HRIS, 5%
Life Insurance, 5%
Cobra, 5%

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Pension Administrator
Pension Administrator vs Benefit Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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