Pension administrator vs benefits & payroll administrator

The differences between pension administrators and benefits & payroll administrators 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 benefits & payroll administrator. Additionally, a pension administrator has an average salary of $57,547, which is higher than the $50,662 average annual salary of a benefits & payroll administrator.

The top three skills for a pension administrator include customer service, plan administration and IRS. The most important skills for a benefits & payroll administrator are human resources, HRIS, and cobra.

Pension administrator vs benefits & payroll administrator overview

	Pension Administrator	Benefits & Payroll Administrator
Yearly salary	$57,547	$50,662
Hourly rate	$27.67	$24.36
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	50,422	61,356
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	6	6

Pension administrator vs benefits & payroll administrator salary

Pension administrators and benefits & payroll administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Pension Administrator	Benefits & Payroll Administrator
Average salary	$57,547	$50,662
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $87,000	Between $37,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	Needham, MA	San Jose, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New Jersey
Best paying company	Kerkering Barberio	HGA
Best paying industry	-	Professional

Differences between pension administrator and benefits & payroll administrator education

There are a few differences between a pension administrator and a benefits & payroll administrator in terms of educational background:

	Pension Administrator	Benefits & Payroll Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Pension administrator vs benefits & payroll administrator demographics

Here are the differences between pension administrators' and benefits & payroll administrators' demographics:

	Pension Administrator	Benefits & Payroll Administrator
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 35.7% Female, 64.3%	Male, 11.7% Female, 88.3%
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, 10.6% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between pension administrator and benefits & payroll administrator 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.

Benefits & payroll administrator example responsibilities.

Manage HRIS, recruiting, training, and time and attendance programs as well as trouble shooting.
Create reports using SQL database and manage reports, perform from internet-base tools for research projects need for client insight.
Ensure accuracy of all benefit enrollments and life status changes record in the HRIS to provide vendors with accurate eligibility information.
Complete weekly internal payroll reports and fund employee accounts (HSA and 401K).
Process benefit elections, merit raises, salary changes, garnishments, cobra and severance.
Administer employee benefits programs including group medical, dental, vision, group life and FSA.

Pension administrator vs benefits & payroll administrator skills

Common pension administrator skills

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

Common benefits & payroll administrator skills

Human Resources, 6%
HRIS, 6%
Cobra, 6%
Payroll System, 4%
Open Enrollment, 4%
ADP Payroll, 4%

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Pension Administrator
Pension Administrator vs Benefits & Payroll Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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