What does a Benefits Specialist do?
Benefits specialists administer an organization's benefits programs. This includes a retirement plan, its leave policies, wellness programs, and any relevant insurance policies including life insurance, health insurance, and disability insurance. Benefits specialists research and analyze benefit plans, policies, and programs. They make recommendations from findings in their analysis and frequently monitor government regulation legislation and other benefit trends to ensure their programs remain current, legal, and competitive.
Benefits specialists are responsible for the management of employee perks and benefits packages in addition to insurance and retirement, this could include stock options and training programs. They are responsible for the design and negotiation of health benefits and retirement packages at their companies and must be fluent in health insurance and life or long-term disability insurance and other trends in employer and employee insurance. They plan and negotiate a company’s benefits packages and administer programs for various companies and organizations. Benefits specialists need a bachelor’s degree in human resources with an emphasis on business management and ethics.
- Manage data to support internal and external audit requests.
- Prepare, collect and organize data in a timely manner.
- Travel will be required for new plan enrollments as needed.
- Provide the benefits department with leadership, strategic direction, and support.
- Gather employee data and oversee the processing of monthly billings for all group plans.
- Document and maintain administrative procedures for assigned benefits processes.
- Assist in the review of plan documents and materials.
- Provide suggestions for continuous improvements, work closely with payroll and HR Services.
- Provide timely, accurate, courteous, and appropriate responses to employees.
- Confirms provider s participation status with patient s insurance plan/network.
- Work with vendor partners to develop and update feeds as necessary.
- Ensure compliance with related laws, rules and regulations as needed.
- Conform to all applicable HIPAA, Billing Compliance and safety policies and guidelines.
- Coach and mentor assigned staff to support growth and development.
- Communicate with appropriate parties to verify and document claim requests.
- Responsible for all actions related to our annual open enrollment and processes benefit elections.
- Run standard reports and perform ad hoc reporting as requested.
- Ensure correct pay and monitors benefit premium(s) payments for employees on FMLA/LOA.
- Responsible for overseeing the day to day benefits administration function.
- Partner with relationship managers in the execution of client service needs.
- Bachelor's or Graduate's Degree in business, business administration, computer science or human resources or equivalent experience.
- Strong command of English language and good communication skills.
- Strict attention to detail and ability to multitask.
- Advanced understanding of HIPAA regulations.
- Experienced with onboarding and termination procedures.
Benefits Specialist Salaries near India
Average Base Pay
Benefits Specialist Career Path
Learn how to become a Benefits Specialist, what skills and education you need to succeed, and what level of pay to expect at each step on your career path.
Years of Experience Distribution
Benefits Specialist Insights
GoHealth“Managers have little oversight so you don't know whether your manager is going to be great or terrible.”
Aflac“Aflac is Commission only and you don't have someone telling you what to do so you control your day.”
Washington State Department of Social and Health Services“The pay is god awful and there was no negotiating when I was offered my role.”
The Standard“Helping people is something that I value about life and get to apply in this role.”
Ensemble Health Partners“I am lucky and have really good managers and can make my own schedule but not all are like that.”
Thread HCM“The work life balance is so refreshing because it’s something I only dreamed about previously!”
UnitedHealthCare“Also did I say the pay was horrible aF (just noticed I did 15 twice) 18.”
Prudential“I learned a lot about the retirement industry which was very beneficial to my career path.”
Frequently asked questions about the role and responsibilities of a Benefits Specialist
When working as a Benefits Specialist, the most common skills you will need to perform your job and for career success are Written Communication, Trigonometry, Geometry, Reviews and Schedules.
- Benefits Coordinator
- HR Manager
- HR Business Partner
- Benefits Analyst
The most common qualifications to become a Benefits Specialist is a minimum of a Bachelor's Degree and an average of 0 - 1 of experience not including years spent in education and/or training.