What Does a Benefits Analyst Do?
When business leaders talk about their company’s most valuable resource, they will often mention “our people.” In almost every industry, a company’s employees are its lifeblood, and attracting and keeping the best, most talented people is vital.
Benefits analysts play a crucial role in helping companies hire the best employees they can and keeping them happy once they’re on board. Benefit analysts review and analyze employee benefits plans and policies, as well as compensation packages. They recommend the best programs for their organizations to use, ideally attractive to prospective employees as well as good for the company’s bottom line.
The job of a benefits analyst touches so many employees. It can be a gratifying human resources career for the right candidates.
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National Average Salary
Benefits analyst salaries vary by experience, industry, organization size, and geography. To explore salary ranges by local market, please visit our sister site zengig.com.
The average U.S. salary for a Benefits Analyst is:
$62,000
Benefits Analyst Job Descriptions
Example 1
Duties and requirements
- Responsible for customer service of benefits overseeing and monitoring calls, benefits inbox, resolving issues, monitoring/creating metrics, and working directly with Managers to ensure reasonable timeframes for issues resolution
- Comply with government and state regulations and plan provisions to ensure equitable administration to employees
- Process and approve qualifying status changes (determine validity; communicate with employees)
- Manage enrollment and educational material
- Manage Retiree medical: eligibility, communication, and payments
- Manage payments for employees on LOA, administer evidence of insurability in accordance with plan rules
- Investigate and resolve eligibility file issues, research and resolve file discrepancies reported by carriers
- Responsible for new hire-dependent supporting document review and follow-up
- Provide policy interpretation and clarify procedures to HR and Department management
- Assist in pension audits
- Assist in annual benefits open enrollment including plan design changes and testing; conduct open enrollment presentations
- Assist in identifying inefficiencies and areas in need of improvement
- Perform other duties when necessary
Competencies
- 2-5 years of experience administering employee benefits or insurance benefit information
- Work effectively and efficiently within strict deadlines as part of a team
- Strong organization and time management skills
- Ability to self-manage in a fast-paced environment and to troubleshoot issues as they arise
- Strong knowledge of Excel and experience navigating online systems
- Excellent interpersonal, analytical, and written communication skills
- Experience working in a strong customer-service-focused environment within human resources
- The retirement plan administration field is strongly preferred
- Experience in developing educational and training materials
Education
- College degree or equivalent professional experience
Example 2
Responsibilities
- Administer employee benefits programs such as medical, dental, vision plans, life, and disability insurance plans, leaves of absence, and 401k retirement plan
- Work closely with the benefits team, benefits consultants, and insurance vendors to implement approved new plans or changes to existing plans by preparing announcement materials, gathering plan summary documents, updating the employee intranet, and other media for communicating plans to employees
- Act as a subject matter expert for escalation of employee benefits inquiries and complaints to ensure a quick, equitable, and courteous resolution
- Maintain contact by zoom, phone, or email, with insurance companies, employees, and beneficiaries to facilitate proper and complete utilization of benefits for all employees
- Craft content and communications for employees that are approachable, succinct, and reflect Company culture
- Prepare benefits reports for plan audits, actuaries, insurance carriers, and management
- Lead and act as project manager for the following benefit plans/programs:
- Compliance management; ensure the program is meeting all legislative requirements including, but not limited to 5500 filings, ACA reporting, and distribution of required notices. Continually evaluate and proactively inform on upcoming changes that may impact the company
- Leave of Absence Administration
- Workday benefits system administration
- Guardian Dental, Vision, Life/AD&D, and LTD
- Kaiser Medical
- Federal COBRA
- And other programs as assigned
- Co-manage the following:
- Employee tickets through ServiceNow
- Bi-weekly onboarding
- Open Enrollment
Requirements
- A bachelor’s degree and 3-5 years of experience in benefits administration
- Strong customer service skills with a focus on employee education
- Ability to develop strong working relationships and collaborate with a cross-functional group of partners, both internal and external
- Proven capability to independently manage projects, including communications, and change management
- Ability to adapt and drive improvements and continuously simplify processes with compliance in mind
- Comfortable with ambiguity, uncertainty, and change
- Expertise in Workday benefits administration
- Working knowledge of Excel for reporting and auditing purposes
Example 3
Responsibilities
- Day-to-day administration of all health and welfare and retirement plans, fringe benefits, life & disability insurance, and COBRA, including but not limited to: processing enrollments, elections, life events, LOA requests, ensuring effective transfer of eligibility, and elections to vendor partners (including management of error reporting and troubleshooting any system or integration issues). Oversee other benefit operation tasks such as COBRA, death claims, rollovers, QMCSOs, 401(k) distributions & loans, etc.
- Assist with the reconciliation of all benefit accounts, audits, and billing
- Assist in annual benefit open enrollment process, internal communications, updating new elections
- Manage health & wellness initiatives such as wellness campaigns
- Monitor compliance with benefit plans and recommend necessary changes: annual filings, file feeds, plan documents, SPDs, and, other legal notices
- Responsible for understanding, interpreting, and complying with all state and federal laws related to health and welfare plans
- Act as subject matter expert on employee benefits for internal customers, vendors, auditors, etc.
- Responsible for reconciling benefit or claims issues and discrepancies, and determining solutions to resolve issues
- Work collectively with Payroll and HRIS to ensure the proper deductions (and/or adjustments) is taken for final pay processing
- Assist and complete special projects as assigned
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in HR or related field. Required education may be substituted by additional years of experience
- 2-3 years of benefits administration experience
- Certified Benefits Professional (CBP) or Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) status preferred
- Professional Human Resources (PHR) certification preferred
- Experience with Benefits Administration to include medical and dental plans, retirement plans, health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, life, AD&D, short and long-term disability, FMLA, State leave policies, and LOA management
- Knowledge of benefit plan cost drivers and plan designs
- Knowledge of various laws such as ERISA, FMLA, OFLA, ACA, etc.
How to Hire a Benefits Analyst
Consider the following when hiring a benefits analyst:
- Recruiting: Do you have the internal resources and tools to source and recruit for this role successfully?
- Complexity: Do you need a senior professional, or will mid, or even junior-level skills suffice?
- Duration: Is this a one-time project, or an indefinite need?
- Management: Can you effectively direct the work effort?
- Urgency: Are there any deadlines associated with this need?
- Headcount: Do you have the budget and approval for an internal employee, or should you consider alternate options?
Answering these questions will help determine the best course of action for your current hiring need. Fortunately, various great options exist for every scenario, no matter how unique. We recommend the following options when hiring a benefits analyst:
1. Use 4 Corner Resources (or another professional recruiting firm)
The heavy lifting is done for you when working with a top-tier staffing company like 4 Corner Resources. We source, screen, recruit, and deliver only the most qualified candidate(s), saving you significant time and effort throughout the hiring process while you remain focused on your core business. Understanding your needs and ensuring the right candidate for the position is the key to our success.
This is the best route to take when:
- You need to fill the position quickly
- You want access to a vast talent pool of high-quality, prescreened candidates
- Your position is suited for temporary hiring services, contract staffing, or contract-to-hire recruiting, and you intend to direct the work activity.
- You are hiring an employee as a direct placement but aren’t able to recruit effectively or efficiently with your internal staff.
- You aren’t familiar with current salary rates, market trends, and available skill sets

2. Advertise your opening on a top job board
Your best option may be to advertise your opening on a proven job board. There are many widely used job sites out there that draw visits from qualified candidates. If you have someone internally who can dedicate the time and energy to sort through applications and screen individuals effectively, this can be a great choice.
We recommend using a job board when:
- Your internal recruiting team has the knowledge and experience to assess candidate qualifications
- You are hiring a direct employee and have time to manage the entire recruiting effort
- You have a process for receiving, screening, and tracking all resumes and applications
- You are prepared to respond to all applicants
There are many career sites out there. Here are the two we recommend for a benefits analyst opening:
LinkedIn is a social network for job seekers, professionals, and businesses. With this popular job site, you can enhance your brand and advertise your open position to a wide audience of motivated, qualified candidates. Job postings on LinkedIn are also extremely streamlined and user-friendly, making it even easier for candidates to apply. Additionally, applicants can use their LinkedIn profile instead of a resume to expedite the process.

CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder has been a trusted source for hiring since 1995. Reach 80+ million unique, diverse U.S. job seekers annually by posting your jobs through their talent acquisition channels. Through CareerBuilder, you can engage candidates and drive them into your sourcing pipeline. We recommend using CareerBuilder for hiring when you have the internal resources and processes to review, screen, and reply to all applicants.

3. Leverage your internal resources
You can utilize your own website, social media, and employees to assist in your search for top candidates.
A company website posting should be the first step in notifying prospective candidates that you are hiring. Social media can also be a powerful tool for spreading the word about your new opening. As far as exposure is concerned, this option can be as good as some job boards when you have a large enough following across various platforms, like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter.
Current employees are every organization’s greatest asset. Encourage your internal team to promote job openings to their network by offering cash and other incentives.
We recommend these options when:
- Your brand has great name recognition
- You can consistently monitor and respond to candidate activity through your website and social media accounts
- You have a process in place to quickly and broadly communicate job openings and requirements
- You have an effective employee referral program in place
If you aren’t sure which path is best, schedule a discovery call today with our seasoned recruiting professionals. The 4 Corner team is on standby to help you find the best option for your unique hiring need.
Sample Interview Questions
- Are you comfortable speaking at length regarding benefit program details?
- Can we rely on you to remember all company policies?
- Do you have confidence in your ability to make decisions that affect other employees?
- Can you find faults in data after analysis?
- Can you keep up to date with any laws or regulations involving benefits and compensation?
- Do you have the writing ability to describe and explain company policy?
- Do you have any experience in human resources?