In an HR or shared-services function, you administer payroll and benefits operations — running payroll cycles, supporting benefits enrollment and administration, handling the regulatory and operational work payroll-and-benefits programs require.
Days run across payroll-cycle work and benefits-administration tasks — processing payroll runs (timekeeping, tax withholding, garnishments, direct-deposit), supporting benefits enrollment and life-event changes, handling regulatory reporting (W-2, 1095, ACA reporting), coordinating with vendors. Payroll accuracy and benefits-administration timeliness anchor the operating measures.
What surprises people new to the role is the rule-and-deadline complexity — payroll runs under federal-and-state tax rules, ERISA, ACA, COBRA, and other frameworks with strict deadlines, and admins navigate the rules across cycles. Variance across employers is real: large corporates run payroll and benefits within structured HR-shared-services functions; mid-size companies run with broader admin scope; payroll-and-benefits-administration vendors serve multiple employer clients.
It fits people detail-tolerant under deadline pressure, fluent across payroll and benefits regulatory frameworks, and reliable through cyclical work. CPP and CEBS credentials anchor advancement. The trade-off is the cycle-driven calendar — payroll cycles repeat every pay period, and the role's calendar shapes around those non-negotiable deadlines.
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Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Don't do Truest if you aren't ready
to invest in yourself and your career.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Business Operations roles →In an HR or shared-services function, you administer payroll and benefits operations — running payroll cycles, supporting benefits enrollment and administration, handling the regulatory and operational work payroll-and-benefits programs require.
Median pay for a Payroll and Benefits Administrator (Payroll and Benefits Admin) is about $77K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $48K to $129K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, and Writing.
Most people in this role hold a bachelor's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 5.3% through 2034, with roughly 102,370 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include F and B Director (Food and Beverage Director), L and D Director (Learning and Development Director), and Benefits Coordinator.
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