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Pension administrator vs retirement specialist

The differences between pension administrators and retirement 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 retirement specialist. Additionally, a pension administrator has an average salary of $57,547, which is higher than the $40,474 average annual salary of a retirement specialist.

The top three skills for a pension administrator include customer service, plan administration and IRS. The most important skills for a retirement specialist are life insurance, HR, and recordkeeping.

Pension administrator vs retirement specialist overview

Pension AdministratorRetirement Specialist
Yearly salary$57,547$40,474
Hourly rate$27.67$19.46
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs50,42224,916
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age4545
Years of experience66

Pension administrator vs retirement specialist salary

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

Pension AdministratorRetirement Specialist
Average salary$57,547$40,474
Salary rangeBetween $37,000 And $87,000Between $29,000 And $56,000
Highest paying CityNeedham, MANewark, NJ
Highest paying stateNew JerseyNew Jersey
Best paying companyKerkering BarberioAmgen
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between pension administrator and retirement specialist education

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

Pension AdministratorRetirement Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Pension administrator vs retirement specialist demographics

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

Pension AdministratorRetirement Specialist
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 35.7% Female, 64.3%Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0%
Race ratioBlack 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, 10.8% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 7.7% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between pension administrator and retirement 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.
  • Show more

Retirement specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage and resolve participant escalations and requests from DOL.
  • Lead major initiatives in 3concurrent roles successfully manage affluent personal and business portfolio to proactively cross-sell additional products and services.
  • Review social security, Medicare, annuities and tax relate questions.
  • Process recalculations and payroll for retirees resuming their retirement benefits.
  • Utilize ASC and SRT recordkeeping systems.
  • Educate participants, clients and third party facilitators on various ERISA regulations and procedures.
  • Show more

Pension administrator vs retirement specialist skills

Common pension administrator skills
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • Plan Administration, 9%
  • IRS, 7%
  • Financial Statements, 7%
  • ERISA, 7%
  • DOL, 5%
Common retirement specialist skills
  • Life Insurance, 11%
  • HR, 10%
  • Recordkeeping, 8%
  • Payroll, 8%
  • Medicare, 7%
  • Financial Products, 6%

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