Benefits Specialist Job Description | Compensation and Benefits Manager Jobs, Salary and Certification (2023)

FAQs

What do you do as a benefits specialist? ›

What is a Benefits Specialist? Benefits Specialists are an integral part of a company's HR department. They are responsible for managing and administering a company's employee benefit and compensation programs, from retirement plans and health insurance to life insurance and beyond.

No, it is not hard to be a benefits specialist.

While this requires a certain level of interpersonal and communication skills, the role is straightforward and typically without much excess stress. The biggest challenge can be how to find the best solution for each employee in the limited number of benefit options.

A benefits manager's role is to design and administer each one of these unique benefit packages, while also researching packages provided by competitors. By gaining this valuable market information, they ensure that their company is offering benefits packages that are fair and competitive.

How much does an Employee Benefits Specialist make in California? The average Employee Benefits Specialist salary in California is $69,987 as of October 27, 2022, but the range typically falls between $61,682 and $79,802.

For most positions, compensation and benefits managers typically need a bachelor's degree in business, human resources, or a related field, such as social science or psychology.

Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists may advance to acompensation and benefits manager or a human resources manager position. Specialists typically need several years of work experience to advance. Although certification is not required, it can demonstrate professional expertise.

If you would like to be a compensation and benefits manager, you'll generally need a bachelor's or master's degree in business or HR and several years of experience in Human Resources. You will need a strong background in finance and statistical analysis, as these are critical when working with salary.

Benefits managers work in the company's Human Resources (HR) department and manage the process of enrolling, updating, and distributing benefits.

How can a benefits manager be successful? ›

Responsibilities for benefits management

Senior Responsible Owner - responsible and accountable for programme or project success underpinned by delivery of expected benefits. programme manager or project manager - responsible for ensuring proper day-to-day management with a strong focus on benefits realisation.

Is SDI a good company to work for? SDI has an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5, based on over 103 reviews left anonymously by employees. 70% of employees would recommend working at SDI to a friend and 76% have a positive outlook for the business.

Benefits representatives, also known as benefits administrators, are responsible for the management of employee benefits in all company processes. They must be equipped with excellent knowledge in all benefit programs including retirement plans, insurance coverage, and pension programs.

Robert Katz identifies three types of skills that are essential for a successful management process: Technical skills. Conceptual skills. Human or interpersonal management skills.

Robert Katz identifies three critical skill sets for successful leaders: technical skills, interpersonal (or human) skills, and conceptual skills.

Career Requirements. To work as a compensation and benefits manager or specialist requires having at least a bachelor's degree. The degree may be in human resources, business management, business administration or finance. The degree may also have a specialization or concentration in compensation and benefits.

Social Security and Medicare. Unemployment insurance. Workers' compensation insurance. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protections.

What does a payroll and benefits specialist do? ›

SUMMARY: Responsible for the overall operation of the payroll processes and functions related to successful completion and administration of the monthly payroll. Also responsible for the administration of employee benefits, provide expertise and insight on employee benefits.

What is an employee benefits consultant? An employee benefits consultant works as an independent contractor to help companies research, procure, dispense and manage benefits packages. They make work individually or as part of a team to advise the organization's owners about available benefits, vendors and costs.

Benefits Analyst Requirements:

Knowledge of state and federal laws and regulations with regard to the processing of health and retirement benefits. Experience in managing leave of absence, time-off, and workers' compensation programs. Experience in Microsoft Suite, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.

The benefits analyst helps attract employees to the company by creating a balanced and appealing benefits program, but there's more to it than just picking perks that employees want. This role has to analyze the current trends, consider costs and find the best products for that specific company.

Compensation managers have a tough job. Making decisions about how much to compensate employees for their efforts often involves 'dancing' between profitability and fairness.

1. Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) Obtaining the CCP designation is beneficial for human resources professionals responsible for their organization's base pay and incentive compensation programs.

Compensation is a niche career path within Human Resources management that requires some specialized knowledge, including math and analytical skills, Burr said. But for people with the right expertise and interests, there is plenty of opportunity. “If you're good at compensation, the sky's the limit,” Burr said.

The Sponsor ultimately owns and is accountable for benefits realisation, but the Project Manager will usually have responsible for producing the Benefits Management Plan, in close collaboration with Sponsor, Senior User and other key stakeholders.

There are over 6,472 compensation and benefits managers currently employed in the United States. 63.4% of all compensation and benefits managers are women, while 36.6% are men.

What are the 4 types of benefits? ›

There are four major types of employee benefits many employers offer: medical insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and retirement plans.

Definition. Benefits management is the identification, definition, planning, tracking and realisation of benefits. Benefits realisation is the practice of ensuring that benefits are derived from outputs and outcomes.

Benefits administration typically falls under the responsibility of Human Resources and involves managing health insurance, retirement accounts, vacations, paid time off and parental leave. Providing employees with the right mix of benefits is critical to attracting and retaining talent and creating engaged employees.

The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is a federal government agency that protects, provides information about, and promotes employer-sponsored benefits packages in the private sector. These protected benefits include retirement, pension, and health plans.

Benefits are any perks offered to employees in addition to salary. The most common benefits are medical, disability, and life insurance; retirement benefits; paid time off; and fringe benefits. Benefits can be quite valuable. Medical insurance alone can cost several hundred dollars a month.

More than 18 million California workers are covered by the California State Disability Insurance (SDI) program. SDI is a partial wage-replacement insurance plan for eligible California workers. SDI is a deduction from employees' wages. This is usually shown as “CASDI” on your paystub.

Your weekly benefit amount is about 60 to 70 percent (depending on income) of wages earned 5 to 18 months before your claim start date, up to the maximum weekly benefit amount. You must have been paying SDI taxes on these wages (usually noted as CASDI on your paystub).

The California State Disability Insurance (SDI) program provides short-term Disability Insurance (DI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL) wage replacement benefits to eligible workers who need time off work.

As a benefits representative, your duties are to develop benefit packages based on job classification and seniority, answer employee questions regarding their coverage, and regularly review these agreements in an effort to develop a more cost-effective plan.

What is a benefit director? ›

A benefits director oversees benefits areas such as health insurance, life insurance, and retirement plans, as well as leave and employee transfers and promotions.

Definition of Full-Time Employee

For purposes of the employer shared responsibility provisions, a full-time employee is, for a calendar month, an employee employed on average at least 30 hours of service per week, or 130 hours of service per month.

Full Time in California

According to the California Department of Industrial Relations, working 40 hours per week qualifies employees as full-time workers.

The minimum wage in California is currently $15.00/hour for employers with 26 or more employees, and $14.00/hour for employers with 25 or less employees. Some cities and counties have higher minimum wages than the state's rate. UC Berkeley maintains a list of City and County minimum wages in California.

Yes, being a payroll specialist is a good job.

They ensure the hours worked are correct and that the employees are paid on time. The role of a payroll specialist can vary depending on the size of the company they are working for.

Payroll Specialist is a job which requires you to sit for long hours. Sometimes, deadlines can be really strict. A career as a Payroll Specialist is not suitable for candidates who like to work with design and technology.

The difference between a payroll specialist and a payroll administrator has to do with the scope of their role. A payroll administrator, for instance, is responsible for overseeing the entire payroll of a company, while a payroll specialist is only responsible for the department in which she works.

Benefits are any perks offered to employees in addition to salary. The most common benefits are medical, disability, and life insurance; retirement benefits; paid time off; and fringe benefits.