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The differences between retirement plan specialists and benefits representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a retirement plan specialist and a benefits representative. Additionally, a retirement plan specialist has an average salary of $60,611, which is higher than the $38,694 average annual salary of a benefits representative.
The top three skills for a retirement plan specialist include life insurance, financial products and FINRA. The most important skills for a benefits representative are customer service, patients, and insurance coverage.
| Retirement Plan Specialist | Benefits Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $60,611 | $38,694 |
| Hourly rate | $29.14 | $18.60 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 9,336 | 13,058 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Retirement plan specialists are experts who plan out their client's financial needs for retirement. The specialist's design and implement savings, benefit, and pension programs for clients. They have to explain the complicated nature of compensation, investment, and retirement packages to employees clearly and concisely. They process retirement plans following company and federal regulations. Also, they often have a background in business or human resources, and they may choose to earn employee benefit certifications that may help with their career advancement.
A benefits representative is responsible for facilitating and disseminating information about benefits programs and policies across all employees in the company. Benefits representatives respond to the employees' inquiries and concerns of benefits processes, update their benefits information, and resolve discrepancies and disputes. They also support the company's initiatives on developing new benefits plans, implementing campaigns, as well as writing application guides for reference. A benefits representative should have excellent communication and organizational skills as they also conduct surveys to check the efficiency and effectiveness of the benefits programs and adjusting procedures as needed.
Retirement plan specialists and benefits representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Retirement Plan Specialist | Benefits Representative | |
| Average salary | $60,611 | $38,694 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $88,000 | Between $29,000 And $51,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | BlackRock |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a retirement plan specialist and a benefits representative in terms of educational background:
| Retirement Plan Specialist | Benefits Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between retirement plan specialists' and benefits representatives' demographics:
| Retirement Plan Specialist | Benefits Representative | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.4% Female, 45.6% | Male, 30.3% Female, 69.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |