Senior payroll specialist vs benefits clerk

The differences between senior payroll specialists and benefits clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a senior payroll specialist and a benefits clerk. Additionally, a senior payroll specialist has an average salary of $59,503, which is higher than the $34,841 average annual salary of a benefits clerk.

The top three skills for a senior payroll specialist include peoplesoft, payroll data and reconciliations. The most important skills for a benefits clerk are payroll system, data entry, and open enrollment.

Senior payroll specialist vs benefits clerk overview

	Senior Payroll Specialist	Benefits Clerk
Yearly salary	$59,503	$34,841
Hourly rate	$28.61	$16.75
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	6,310	75,454
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

Senior payroll specialist vs benefits clerk salary

Senior payroll specialists and benefits clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Payroll Specialist	Benefits Clerk
Average salary	$59,503	$34,841
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $82,000	Between $27,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Los Angeles, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Minnesota
Best paying company	MongoDB	Monarch Casino & Resort
Best paying industry	Technology	Government

Differences between senior payroll specialist and benefits clerk education

There are a few differences between a senior payroll specialist and a benefits clerk in terms of educational background:

	Senior Payroll Specialist	Benefits Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Senior payroll specialist vs benefits clerk demographics

Here are the differences between senior payroll specialists' and benefits clerks' demographics:

	Senior Payroll Specialist	Benefits Clerk
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 23.2% Female, 76.8%	Male, 13.3% Female, 86.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 6.0% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 5.9% White, 58.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between senior payroll specialist and benefits clerk duties and responsibilities

Senior payroll specialist example responsibilities.

Manage payroll imports into and out of HRIS, including master file and pay data additions and changes.
Update the maintenance of all job-relate records in the KRONOS timekeeping system, for all employees.
Perform thorough analysis of UltiPro timekeeping system prior to uploading to the payroll system on a biweekly basis.
Process payroll using ADP/ KRONOS for multiple companies.
Load pay changes for pay period into UltiPro.
Process regular wages, overtime wages, PTO, tips and toke incomes, etc.

Benefits clerk example responsibilities.

Examine HMO documents to verify eligibility to process or reject into or from a manage care plan when necessary.
Enter employee data in HRIS system.
Used ADP HR/B software for benefits enrollment and reports.
Maintain retirement (401k) plan, FMLA and personnel records.
Monitor FMLA, CFRA, PDL, and personal leave of absence and premiums payments.
Update and maintain benefits data in the HRIS system to ensure accuracy and integrity of employee information.

Senior payroll specialist vs benefits clerk skills

Common senior payroll specialist skills

PeopleSoft, 15%
Payroll Data, 5%
Reconciliations, 4%
HRIS, 4%
ADP Workforce, 3%
Data Entry, 3%

Common benefits clerk skills

Payroll System, 17%
Data Entry, 8%
Open Enrollment, 7%
Cobra, 7%
HRIS, 5%
Human Resources, 5%

Senior Payroll Specialist vs. similar jobs

Senior Payroll Specialist related careers

Senior Payroll Specialist related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Senior Payroll Specialist
Senior Payroll Specialist vs Benefits Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs