Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between senior benefits specialists and benefits consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a senior benefits specialist and a benefits consultant. Additionally, a benefits consultant has an average salary of $79,068, which is higher than the $50,211 average annual salary of a senior benefits specialist.
The top three skills for a senior benefits specialist include customer service, HR and HRIS. The most important skills for a benefits consultant are HR, customer service, and life insurance.
| Senior Benefits Specialist | Benefits Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $50,211 | $79,068 |
| Hourly rate | $24.14 | $38.01 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 34,999 | 19,308 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 45 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Typically working in a company's human resources department, a senior benefits specialist manages benefits and compensation programs for the employees. They are mostly in charge of designing and developing plans for retirement, stock ownership, healthcare, and pension. To carry out their duties, they must perform extensive research and analysis, coordinate efforts with staff and other experts, put costs and budgets into consideration, and liaise with external parties such as vendors and plan providers, building positive relationships for a smooth workflow. Moreover, a senior benefits specialist must also assist employees by answering their inquiries and explaining how the benefits programs work.
Benefits consultants are executives who carry out many services for individuals and businesses. The consultants draft and organize policies within the organization. They handle vendors and manage the renewal of negotiations of HMO plans. It is their job to establish agency relationships with marketing representatives. They coordinate programs that involve self-funded or administered long-term and short-term disability, life insurance, and a cafeteria plan. Also, they prepare enterprises to meet health care law changes.
Senior benefits specialists and benefits consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Benefits Specialist | Benefits Consultant | |
| Average salary | $50,211 | $79,068 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $72,000 | Between $51,000 And $121,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | BMO Capital Markets |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a senior benefits specialist and a benefits consultant in terms of educational background:
| Senior Benefits Specialist | Benefits Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior benefits specialists' and benefits consultants' demographics:
| Senior Benefits Specialist | Benefits Consultant | |
| Average age | 45 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 25.4% Female, 74.6% | Male, 46.7% Female, 53.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 7.3% White, 62.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 8.0% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 35% |