What does a retirement specialist do?

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.
Retirement specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real retirement specialist resumes:
- 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.
- Assure all customers are in compliance with FINRA regulations by auditing accounts for consistent and legal activities.
- Service and administer current participants and employers with their 401K , 457, or Roth IRA plan.
- Administer all aspects of retirement planning associate with pension plans, qualify plans, IRAs, and Roth IRAs.
- Skil and experience in the proper handling of confidential information in accordance with state and federal laws (HIPPA).
- Carry out verification of securities transactions.
- Document and correct transaction errors within corporate and IRS guidelines.
- Make temporary modifications to benefits including recalculation for survivor/child annuities.
- Analyze IRS plan provisions and regulations to explain retirement guidelines to customers
- Monitor coordination of amortization schedules with goal repayment amounts in payroll system.
Retirement specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Retirement Specialists are proficient in Life Insurance, HR, and Recordkeeping. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Communication skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Retirement Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Life Insurance, 11%
Communicated information literacy to both new and existing clients in various life insurance and supplementary investment products.
- HR, 10%
Maintain confidentiality of all HR and Payroll related information.
- Recordkeeping, 8%
Tested recordkeeping systems prior to implementation of any changes to ensure accurate working of participant website.
- Payroll, 8%
Monitored coordination of amortization schedules with goal repayment amounts in payroll system.
- Medicare, 7%
Implemented new team process for Medicare enrollment, saving the company an estimated $18,000 per year.
- Financial Products, 6%
Recommend Retirement/Financial products as appropriate to ensure
Most retirement specialists use their skills in "life insurance," "hr," and "recordkeeping" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential retirement specialist responsibilities here:
Business skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a retirement specialist to have is business skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "specialists must understand basic finance and accounting." Retirement specialists often use business skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "offered a wide range of investment products and services to include small business plans. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform retirement specialist duties is communication skills. Retirement specialists responsibilities require that "specialists need to provide information about compensation and benefits in a way that is understandable to employees at all levels throughout their organization." Retirement specialists also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "fortified communication skills clarifying complex irs regulations on retirement accounts to clients and colleagues in other departments. "
Analytical skills. retirement specialists are also known for analytical skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to retirement specialist responsibilities, because "compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists perform data and cost analyses to evaluate their organization’s policies." A retirement specialist resume example shows how analytical skills is used in the workplace: "assisted with retirement benefits data and processing claims for retirement. "
The three companies that hire the most retirement specialists are:
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Retirement specialist vs. Workers compensation coordinator
Workers compensation coordinators work with supervisors to identify incident causes and the best corrective actions. They train coordinators and supervisors on reporting and managing workers' compensation claims. Besides coordinating EHS committee meetings and managing EHS files, workers' compensation coordinators also manage workers' programs for hearing tests, safety glasses, and safety shoes. These professionals use the company credit card or purchasing system to order safety supplies. Also, they ensure workers get the needed care by partnering with medical providers and injured employees.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, retirement specialist responsibilities require skills like "life insurance," "recordkeeping," "medicare," and "financial products." Meanwhile a typical workers compensation coordinator has skills in areas such as "osha," "patients," "excellent planning," and "rehabilitation." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Workerss compensation coordinator earn the highest salaries when working in the finance industry, with an average yearly salary of $67,433. On the other hand, retirement specialists are paid more in the finance industry with an average salary of $45,800.workerss compensation coordinator tend to reach similar levels of education than retirement specialists. In fact, workerss compensation coordinator are 1.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Retirement specialist vs. Benefits & payroll administrator
The Benefits and Payroll Administrator manages the company's payroll, ensuring work benefits and employee documents are secure. The administrator also delivers employees' issues and concerns to the company's proper channels. This position also helps in the audit of the company and ensures compliance with state and federal regulations. This administrative position requires bookkeeping knowledge, a bachelor's degree, and experience in using spreadsheets and accounting software.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, retirement specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "hr," "recordkeeping," "payroll," and "medicare." Meanwhile, a benefits & payroll administrator has duties that require skills in areas such as "human resources," "hris," "cobra," and "payroll system." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Benefits & payroll administrators earn a higher average salary than retirement specialists. But benefits & payroll administrators earn the highest pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $55,595. Additionally, retirement specialists earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $45,800 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Benefits & payroll administrators tend to reach similar levels of education than retirement specialists. In fact, they're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Retirement specialist vs. Payroll and benefits coordinator
A Payroll and Benefits Coordinator works as a member of a company's human resources department where their role is to oversee and organize procedures related to preparing and processing employee salaries and benefits, ensuring accuracy and timeliness. They are responsible for setting goals and guidelines, maintaining payroll records and employee timesheets, preparing and processing the necessary documentation, liaising with internal and external business partners, delegating tasks among staff, and resolving issues and concerns if any arise. Moreover, as a payroll and benefits coordinator, it is essential to assist employees by answering inquiries and understanding the extent of procedures.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, retirement specialists are more likely to have skills like "hr," "recordkeeping," "payroll," and "medicare." But a payroll and benefits coordinator is more likely to have skills like "hris," "human resources," "open enrollment," and "payroll processing."
When it comes to education, payroll and benefits coordinators tend to earn similar degree levels compared to retirement specialists. In fact, they're 0.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Retirement specialist vs. Benefits advisor
A benefits advisor specializes in devising benefits programs and strategies for a workforce, ensuring they are well-compensated for their hard work. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to identify the needs of employees in a company, studying the benefit programs of competitors, and assessing the existing programs while putting the company's welfare into consideration. They must prepare reports and presentations for clients, provide cost-estimates and business plans, and evaluate risks, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.
Types of retirement specialist
Updated January 8, 2025











