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The differences between retirement plan specialists and verification 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 retirement plan specialist and a verification specialist. Additionally, a retirement plan specialist has an average salary of $60,611, which is higher than the $31,564 average annual salary of a verification specialist.
The top three skills for a retirement plan specialist include life insurance, financial products and FINRA. The most important skills for a verification specialist are customer service, patients, and data entry.
| Retirement Plan Specialist | Verification Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $60,611 | $31,564 |
| Hourly rate | $29.14 | $15.18 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 9,336 | 26,348 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 37% |
| 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.
The verification specialist's primary role is to make and take calls to employers for the purpose of verifying information stated by an applicant on his/her /her job application. They manage calls inbound/outbound for education, employment, reference, and licensing verification purposes. They also maintain and keep records of all calls handled to ensure all verifications made are followed upon on time. They communicate effectively and proficiently to all parties involved in attaining verification information. Moreover, they do monthly review to quality check all data gathered for verifications.
Retirement plan specialists and verification specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Retirement Plan Specialist | Verification Specialist | |
| Average salary | $60,611 | $31,564 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $88,000 | Between $24,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Jose, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Jacobs Engineering Group |
| Best paying industry | - | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a retirement plan specialist and a verification specialist in terms of educational background:
| Retirement Plan Specialist | Verification Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 37% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between retirement plan specialists' and verification specialists' demographics:
| Retirement Plan Specialist | Verification Specialist | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.4% Female, 45.6% | Male, 23.9% Female, 76.1% |
| 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, 11.2% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 7.3% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |