What does a social security specialist do?
Social security specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real social security specialist resumes:
- Collaborate with partners including public and private agencies to achieve permanency for children.
- Familiarize myself with Medicare and Medicaid processes.
- Research state and federal regulations and statutes pertaining to Medicaid.
- Obtain medical information, determine proper length of paid disability and FMLA eligibility and ensure timely and accurate payments to associates.
- Ensure programs operate under HUD guidelines meeting budgetary approvals.
Social security specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 37% of Social Security Specialists are proficient in Social Work, Crisis Intervention, and Foster Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Social Security Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Social Work, 37%
Coordinate social work unit efforts with other departments in the agency and with external resources, for integrated case management.
- Crisis Intervention, 7%
Provide crisis intervention services to victims of family & domestic violence.
- Foster Care, 6%
Make referrals as needed for contracted services; foster care, family preservation and provide family service work as necessary.
- Discharge Planning, 5%
Assist residents with advance directives, insurance concerns, adjustment to a nursing facility and discharge planning.
- Social Security Administration, 5%
Worked with attorneys, clients and Social Security Administration to secure disability determination.
- Mental Illness, 5%
Provide psychosocial assessments to determine employability of clients with mental illness and physical disability.
Common skills that a social security specialist uses to do their job include "social work," "crisis intervention," and "foster care." You can find details on the most important social security specialist responsibilities below.
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a social security specialist to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "social and human service assistants talk with clients about the challenges in their lives and assist them in getting help." Social security specialists often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "monitor all foster care cases and maintain necessary communication with partnering agencies, such as kvc and dccca. "
Compassion. Another essential skill to perform social security specialist duties is compassion. Social security specialists responsibilities require that "social and human service assistants often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations." Social security specialists also use compassion in their role according to a real resume snippet: "maintain a compassionate and enthusiastic environment for patients and staff. "
Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of social security specialists is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday social security specialist duties, as "social and human service assistants must make their clients feel comfortable discussing sensitive issues." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "carried a case load of 10-15 patients, managed crisis laden environment with strong interpersonal and organizational skills. "
Organizational skills. social security specialist responsibilities often require "organizational skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "social and human service assistants must often complete lots of paperwork and work with many different clients." This resume example shows what social security specialists do with organizational skills on a typical day: "used organizational skills and time management to complete admission process and paperwork for patients coming in for treatment. "
Problem-solving skills. A commonly-found skill in social security specialist job descriptions, "problem-solving skills" is essential to what social security specialists do. Social security specialist responsibilities rely on this skill because "social and human service assistants help clients find solutions to their problems." You can also see how social security specialist duties rely on problem-solving skills in this resume example: "utilized therapeutic techniques such as motivational interviewing and solution focused during group therapy. "
Time-management skills. Another skill commonly found on social security specialist job descriptions is "time-management skills." It can come up quite often in social security specialist duties, since "social and human service assistants often work with many clients." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day social security specialist responsibilities: "ensured that social workers are meeting all bridges to health and agency mandates and paperwork requirements and deadlines. "
The three companies that hire the most social security specialists are:
Compare different social security specialists
Social security specialist vs. Case aide
A case aide is responsible for supporting the community operations and projects to provide high-quality services for the citizens and assist them with the resources for their daily needs. Case aides are also employed in a health care institution or private households to look for patients and monitor their conditions. They coordinate with other institutions in requesting fundings and sponsorships for community programs to help the citizens, especially for financial support. A case aide must have excellent communication and organizational skills in processing paperwork and sorting files for service reference.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between social security specialists and case aide. For instance, social security specialist responsibilities require skills such as "discharge planning," "social security administration," "technical assistance," and "social security disability." Whereas a case aide is skilled in "substance abuse," "patients," "phone calls," and "foster children." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Case aides earn the highest salaries when working in the government industry, with an average yearly salary of $34,543. On the other hand, social security specialists are paid more in the government industry with an average salary of $52,604.On average, case aides reach lower levels of education than social security specialists. Case aides are 16.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 3.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Social security specialist vs. Social worker
Social workers help their clients get through problems that they may be facing. Social workers help identify individuals or groups of people, usually families, who may need assistance, generally through a set of pre-determined criteria. They then determine the best ways to help their clients by interviewing them, getting to know them, and understanding the context of their lives. They create plans that will help their clients become better, such as integrating into a new environment, assisting them in their needs, or even rescuing them from their current place. Social workers have good interpersonal skills and communication skills.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, social security specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "social security administration," "technical assistance," "social security disability," and "disability benefits." Meanwhile, a social worker has duties that require skills in areas such as "patients," "patient care," "msw," and "home health." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Social workers earn a higher average salary than social security specialists. But social workers earn the highest pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $56,132. Additionally, social security specialists earn the highest salaries in the government with average pay of $52,604 annually.In general, social workers achieve higher levels of education than social security specialists. They're 11.6% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 3.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for social security specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Debra Minsky-Kelly
Director of Field Education / Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work, Carthage College
Social security specialist vs. Security
A Security's main responsibility is to keep people or an establishment safe. This responsibility is carried out by constantly patrolling a designated area and monitoring the activity within the premises. Most of the tasks involved are inspecting buildings and equipment, monitoring entry and exit points, reporting irregularities, responding to customers in distress, and other surveillance activities. The security is basically an establishment's first line of defense, this is why one must have good communication skills, keen observation and judgment, and as well as presence of mind.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, social security specialists are more likely to have skills like "social work," "crisis intervention," "foster care," and "discharge planning." But a security is more likely to have skills like "patrol," "ladders," "property damage," and "good judgment."
Securities earn the best pay in the start-up industry, where they command an average salary of $31,007. Social security specialists earn the highest pay from the government industry, with an average salary of $52,604.Most securities achieve a lower degree level compared to social security specialists. For example, they're 19.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 3.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Social security specialist vs. Social service coordinator
A social service coordinator is responsible for assisting the essential needs of the citizens within a community by providing them financial assistance, employment services, and social provisions through coordinating with various organizations and social institutions. Social service coordinators conduct counseling to assess social needs and processing referral services for particular purposes. They also perform administrative and clerical duties as needed, responding to the citizens' inquiries and concerns, collecting their documents, and coordinating with the community office on planning livelihood programs and activities for social benefits.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between social security specialists and social service coordinators, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a social security specialist might have more use for skills like "foster care," "social security administration," "social services," and "social security disability." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of social service coordinators require skills like "home health," "patients," "rehabilitation," and "social service programs. "
The professional industry tends to pay the highest salaries for social service coordinators, with average annual pay of $42,652. Comparatively, the highest social security specialist annual salary comes from the government industry.In general, social service coordinators hold similar degree levels compared to social security specialists. Social service coordinators are 1.1% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 2.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of social security specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
