Public Benefits Specialist 3 pay range
State of Washington · class code 165I
- Class code
- 165I
- Salary range
- 49
- Pay unit
- Year
- State
- Washington
- The State of Washington published pay range for Public Benefits Specialist 3 is $54,204 to $72,900 per year.
- Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM) keys this classification as class code 165I.
- This is the range the plan authorises, not the salary of any individual employee.
Step progression
Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM) assigns this class to salary range 49 in the General Service Salary Schedule. The range pays 13 steps; a step is normally earned on a periodic increment date, not negotiated.
| Basis | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $54,204 | $55,596 | $56,952 | $58,392 | $59,760 | $61,332 | $62,880 | $64,512 | $66,072 | $67,704 | $69,348 | $71,136 | $72,900 |
| Monthly | $4,517 | $4,633 | $4,746 | $4,866 | $4,980 | $5,111 | $5,240 | $5,376 | $5,506 | $5,642 | $5,779 | $5,928 | $6,075 |
| Hourly | $25.96 | $26.63 | $27.28 | $27.97 | $28.62 | $29.37 | $30.11 | $30.90 | $31.64 | $32.43 | $33.21 | $34.07 | $34.91 |
Steps as published. The monthly and hourly rows are the state's own, not conversions of the annual row.
Class specification
The OFM classified job specification for this class is published by Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM). The passages below are quoted from it as published, not paraphrased, and cut to their opening sentences; the full specification is the authority on duties and qualifications.
What the state says the job is
Serves as the primary point of contact for clients receiving public benefits and is responsible for managing an assigned financial services workload.
Examples of the work
Conducts intensive interviews to determine eligibility for cash, medical, food and/or child care benefits; Makes corrections to audited cases, reads cases, varies eligibility factors, and participates in case staffings; Explains program requirements and services available; Refers clients to both mandatory and optional services and to other agencies as required; Authorizes necessary warrants, medical services, food benefits and electronic benefits cards; Works within timeframes and deadlines, which are dictated by program requirements; Recognizes and recomputes incorrect payments of grants, food and/or child care benefits and medical assistance, and establishes overpayments and underpayments; ...
Minimum qualifications
Nine months of experience as a Public Benefits Specialist 2. OR Fifteen months of experience as a Public Benefits Specialist 1 and satisfactory completion of the agency's Public Benefits Specialist Training Program. Equivalent education/experience.
Quoted from the OFM classified job specification, read 2026-10-21.
Where this comes from
Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM) publishes this figure in Classified Job Listing joined to the OFM salary schedules effective July 1, 2026. Every number on this page is read from that document; nothing is estimated, modelled or averaged.
The dollar figures come from the salary schedule the listing assigns this range to.