Pension consultant vs plan administrator

The differences between pension consultants and plan 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 consultant and a plan administrator. Additionally, a pension consultant has an average salary of $74,793, which is higher than the $68,435 average annual salary of a plan administrator.

The top three skills for a pension consultant include calculation, plan administration and ERISA. The most important skills for a plan administrator are payroll, HR, and plan administration.

Pension consultant vs plan administrator overview

	Pension Consultant	Plan Administrator
Yearly salary	$74,793	$68,435
Hourly rate	$35.96	$32.90
Growth rate	7%	2%
Number of jobs	6,583	51,856
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 83%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	45	46
Years of experience	6	6

Pension consultant vs plan administrator salary

Pension consultants and plan administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Pension Consultant	Plan Administrator
Average salary	$74,793	$68,435
Salary range	Between $52,000 And $106,000	Between $45,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Apple
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between pension consultant and plan administrator education

There are a few differences between a pension consultant and a plan administrator in terms of educational background:

	Pension Consultant	Plan Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 83%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Pension consultant vs plan administrator demographics

Here are the differences between pension consultants' and plan administrators' demographics:

	Pension Consultant	Plan Administrator
Average age	45	46
Gender ratio	Male, 51.7% Female, 48.3%	Male, 39.1% Female, 60.9%
Race ratio	Black 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, 10.8% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 8.2% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	35%

Differences between pension consultant and plan administrator 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.

Plan administrator example responsibilities.

Create custom macro to expedite data transfer of manage ESOP.
Participate in establishing and testing pension plans on PeopleSoft to automate applicable calculations.
Establish and maintain IRA, SEP, SARSEP and Keogh plans.
Gather plan date (census, assets) from clients, CPA's, attorneys, and investment brokers.
Process monthly stock option and RSU grants.
Prepare RSU tax withholding calculations for mobility employees on a monthly basis.

Pension consultant vs plan administrator skills

Common pension consultant skills

Calculation, 19%
Plan Administration, 14%
ERISA, 13%
Government Filings, 12%
Plan Provisions, 11%
Plan Design, 10%

Common plan administrator skills

Payroll, 9%
HR, 7%
Plan Administration, 6%
Database, 5%
PowerPoint, 4%
SOX, 4%

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Pension Consultant
Pension Consultant vs Plan Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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