How to hire a pension consultant

How to hire a pension consultant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step pension consultant hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a pension consultant job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new pension consultant
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The pension consultant hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

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   Hiring the perfect pension consultant also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of pension consultants.

   Type of Pension Consultant	Description	Hourly rate
   Pension Consultant	Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists conduct an organization’s compensation and benefits programs. They also evaluate position descriptions to determine details such as a person’s classification and salary.	$25-50
   Benefits & Payroll Administrator	The Benefits and Payroll Administrator manages the company's payroll, ensuring work benefits and employee documents are secure. The administrator also delivers employees' issues and concerns to the company's proper channels... Show more	$17-32
   Employee Benefits Supervisor	An Employee Benefits Supervisor supervises, trains, and completes performance reviews for the staff they manage. They develop and update procedure manuals, analyze, note down company operations, and interact with company vendors, staff, officials, members, and other entities... Show more	$15-37

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Calculation
   • Plan Administration
   • ERISA
   • Government Filings
   • Plan Provisions
   • Plan Design
   • Pension Administration
   • IRS
   • DOL
   • ASC
   • Legislative Changes
   • Discrimination Testing
   • Plan Sponsors
   • Compliance Issues

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Recruit to manage key client engagements to define global strategic sourcing projects and solutions to utilize technology and advance ERP systems.
   • Research and compile documents to assist senior legal counsel specific to ERISA litigation.
   • Fast learner, note for quickly developing strong knowledge of IRS rules for insurance industry.
   • Leverage sales skills to identify customer needs and create new opportunities to transfer assets to TIAA-CREF.
   • Pioneer the Spanish initiative, in taking the first calls in Spanish for TIAA-CREF along with a small team.
   • Review court orders and relate legal documents to ensure compliance with applicable IRC provisions, ERISA, and qualify plan requirements.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your pension consultant job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A pension consultant can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, pension consultants' average salary in hawaii is 63% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level pension consultants 51% less than senior-level pension consultants.
   • Certifications. A pension consultant with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a pension consultant's salary.

   Average pension consultant salary

   $74,793yearly

   $35.96 hourly rate

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   Entry-level pension consultant salary

   $52,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

4. Writing a pension consultant job description

   A pension consultant job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a pension consultant job description:

   Pension consultant job description example

   As a Government and Public Services (GPS) Consultant within Deloitte Consulting's US Delivery Center (USDC), you will support Deloitte leaders in providing strategic and technical consulting services and support business development efforts for Federal and State governments and other public entities.
   
   At Deloitte's US Delivery Center (USDC) we help clients achieve a higher level of service in operational efficiency and business value. The USDC leverages scale, talent, and a center delivery model to provide high quality, cost-effective service with standardized processes and procedures. Our US Delivery Centers have been growing since 2014 with significant, continued growth on the horizon. Our delivery centers are based in Mechanicsburg, PA, Lake Mary, FL and Gilbert, AZ. This role is available to be fully remote.
   
   Work you'll do• Serve as primary contact on certain actuarially related tasks, while researching, drafting, and organizing deliverables
   • Perform non-standard benefit calculations for participants in unique circumstances
   • Conduct relevant research, data analysis, and create reports
   • Identify opportunities for efficiencies in work process and innovative approaches to completing scope of work
   • Participate in team problem solving efforts and offer ideas to solve client issues
   • Maintain responsibility for completion and accuracy of work products
   • Actively expand consulting skills and professional development through training courses, mentoring, and interaction with clients
   
   The Team
   The Workforce Transformation practice delivers solutions to help our clients transform their workforces and workplaces for business success in this era of technology disruption. We deliver solutions to enable our clients' success in creating the very best workforce to achieve their business aspirations - providing end-to-end workforce lifecycle solutions.
   
   Workforce Transformation supports our clients by:
   • Imagining and transforming the composition and capabilities of the workforce to match the needs of the future of work in this age of technology disruption
   • Delivering end-to-end transformations of workforce programs, services and processes to identify, build and incent to drive success of organizations and their workforces
   • Delivering solutions within each workforce domain: Branding & Acquisition; Rewards & Well-being; Performance, Learning & Career Mobility; Leadership & Teaming; Diversity & Inclusion
   
   Qualifications
   
   Required:• A Bachelor's Degree in Actuarial Science or related fields from an accredited college /university
   • 3+ year of relevant consulting or defined benefit Pension experience
   • Proven experience effectively prioritizing workload to meet deadlines and work objectives
   • Demonstrated ability to write clearly, succinctly, and in a manner that appeals to a wide audience
   • Proficiency in word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation creation tools, as well as Internet research tools
   • Ability to support consultations on pension plan administration leading practices, including process and operational efficiencies
   • Must be able to obtain and maintain required clearance for this role
   
   Preferred:• Experience administering and communicating defined benefit pension benefits

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5. Post your job

   To find the right pension consultant for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with pension consultants they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit pension consultants who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your pension consultant job on Zippia to find and recruit pension consultant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit pension consultants, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new pension consultant

   Once you've decided on a perfect pension consultant candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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