Plan administrator vs employee benefits director

The differences between plan administrators and employee benefits directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a plan administrator and an employee benefits director. Additionally, an employee benefits director has an average salary of $94,698, which is higher than the $68,435 average annual salary of a plan administrator.

The top three skills for a plan administrator include payroll, HR and plan administration. The most important skills for an employee benefits director are human resources, payroll, and wellness programs.

Plan administrator vs employee benefits director overview

	Plan Administrator	Employee Benefits Director
Yearly salary	$68,435	$94,698
Hourly rate	$32.90	$45.53
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	51,856	14,578
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	6	6

Plan administrator vs employee benefits director salary

Plan administrators and employee benefits directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Plan Administrator	Employee Benefits Director
Average salary	$68,435	$94,698
Salary range	Between $45,000 And $103,000	Between $60,000 And $149,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	-
Highest paying state	New York	-
Best paying company	Apple	-
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	-

Differences between plan administrator and employee benefits director education

There are a few differences between a plan administrator and an employee benefits director in terms of educational background:

	Plan Administrator	Employee Benefits Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Plan administrator vs employee benefits director demographics

Here are the differences between plan administrators' and employee benefits directors' demographics:

	Plan Administrator	Employee Benefits Director
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 39.1% Female, 60.9%	Male, 45.8% Female, 54.2%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 8.3% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	35%	35%

Differences between plan administrator and employee benefits director duties and responsibilities

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.

Employee benefits director example responsibilities.

Create reports using SQL database and manage reports, perform from internet-base tools for research projects need for client insight.
Interpret complex rules and laws for FMLA leave actions.
Dispatch FMLA forms for completion by employees and approve requests for leave.
Assist over 150 small businesses convert traditional insurance plans through ACA compliant programs.
Provide strategic human resource leadership to Sr. Management team for compensation, benefits and HRIS policies and programs.
Participate in a project management team that develop a dedicate ERISA trust outsourcing platform for the DTS program.

Plan administrator vs employee benefits director skills

Common plan administrator skills

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

Common employee benefits director skills

Human Resources, 10%
Payroll, 6%
Wellness Programs, 6%
HIPAA, 5%
HRIS, 4%
Employee Engagement, 4%

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Plan Administrator
Plan Administrator vs Employee Benefits Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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