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Pension consultant vs retirement specialist

The differences between pension consultants 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 consultant and a retirement specialist. Additionally, a pension consultant has an average salary of $74,793, which is higher than the $40,474 average annual salary of a retirement specialist.

The top three skills for a pension consultant include calculation, plan administration and ERISA. The most important skills for a retirement specialist are life insurance, HR, and recordkeeping.

Pension consultant vs retirement specialist overview

Pension ConsultantRetirement Specialist
Yearly salary$74,793$40,474
Hourly rate$35.96$19.46
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs6,58324,916
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 83%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age4545
Years of experience66

Pension consultant vs retirement specialist salary

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

Pension ConsultantRetirement Specialist
Average salary$74,793$40,474
Salary rangeBetween $52,000 And $106,000Between $29,000 And $56,000
Highest paying City-Newark, NJ
Highest paying state-New Jersey
Best paying company-Amgen
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between pension consultant and retirement specialist education

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

Pension ConsultantRetirement Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 83%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Pension consultant vs retirement specialist demographics

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

Pension ConsultantRetirement Specialist
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 51.7% Female, 48.3%Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0%
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, 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 consultant and retirement 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.
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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.
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Pension consultant vs retirement specialist skills

Common pension consultant skills
  • Calculation, 19%
  • Plan Administration, 14%
  • ERISA, 13%
  • Government Filings, 12%
  • Plan Provisions, 11%
  • Plan Design, 10%
Common retirement specialist skills
  • Life Insurance, 11%
  • HR, 10%
  • Recordkeeping, 8%
  • Payroll, 8%
  • Medicare, 7%
  • Financial Products, 6%

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