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Pension consultant vs benefit specialist

The differences between pension consultants 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 consultant and a benefit specialist. Additionally, a pension consultant has an average salary of $74,793, which is higher than the $48,756 average annual salary of a benefit specialist.

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

Pension consultant vs benefit specialist overview

Pension ConsultantBenefit Specialist
Yearly salary$74,793$48,756
Hourly rate$35.96$23.44
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs6,58331,663
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 83%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age4545
Years of experience66

Pension consultant vs benefit specialist salary

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

Pension ConsultantBenefit Specialist
Average salary$74,793$48,756
Salary rangeBetween $52,000 And $106,000Between $34,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-Connecticut
Best paying company-Qorvo
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between pension consultant and benefit specialist education

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

Pension ConsultantBenefit Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 83%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Pension consultant vs benefit specialist demographics

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

Pension ConsultantBenefit Specialist
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 51.7% Female, 48.3%Male, 21.1% Female, 78.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 7.9% White, 62.1% 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 Percentage9%9%

Differences between pension consultant and benefit specialist duties and responsibilities

Pension consultant example 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.
  • Show more

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.
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Pension consultant vs benefit specialist skills

Common pension consultant skills
  • Calculation, 19%
  • Plan Administration, 14%
  • ERISA, 13%
  • Government Filings, 12%
  • Plan Provisions, 11%
  • Plan Design, 10%
Common benefit specialist skills
  • Customer Service, 13%
  • HR, 8%
  • Patients, 5%
  • HRIS, 5%
  • Life Insurance, 5%
  • Cobra, 5%

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