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The differences between retirement specialists and benefit 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 specialist and a benefit specialist. Additionally, a benefit specialist has an average salary of $48,756, which is higher than the $40,474 average annual salary of a retirement specialist.
The top three skills for a retirement specialist include life insurance, HR and recordkeeping. The most important skills for a benefit specialist are customer service, HR, and patients.
| Retirement Specialist | Benefit Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $40,474 | $48,756 |
| Hourly rate | $19.46 | $23.44 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 24,916 | 31,663 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A retirement specialist is responsible for designing and implementing retirement packages such as benefits, savings, profit sharing, and pensions to the employees of a certain company. They work together with the human resource department to ensure that all retirees can access their benefits and pensions. Their duties and responsibilities include explaining the different retirement packages to the potential beneficiaries and working with HR to resolve any issues.
A benefits specialist is responsible for analyzing and processing the compensation package of an organization, ensuring that the salary and benefits received by an employee adhere to the current legislation procedures. Benefits specialists develop benefits programs, adjusting pension plans and insurance options as needed, and updating the employees on recent updates and changes. A benefits specialist responds to employees' inquiries, addresses their concerns, and manages benefits issues. A benefits specialist must have a clear understanding of benefits policies and processes to educate employees about the benefits structure.
Retirement specialists and benefit specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Retirement Specialist | Benefit Specialist | |
| Average salary | $40,474 | $48,756 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $56,000 | Between $34,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | Newark, NJ | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Amgen | Qorvo |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a retirement specialist and a benefit specialist in terms of educational background:
| Retirement Specialist | Benefit Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between retirement specialists' and benefit specialists' demographics:
| Retirement Specialist | Benefit Specialist | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0% | Male, 21.1% Female, 78.9% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 7.5% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |