PEO Services

What kind of services does a typical Professional Employer Organization (PEO) offer?:

PEO Payroll Administration

* Prepare payroll and distribute checks
* Direct deposit
* W2’s
* W3’s
* Payroll Data
* Withholdings and Tax Deposits
* Payroll record keeping, audits
* I-9 inquiries
* Reports and job costing
* Time clock management
* Vacation
* Payroll software

PEO Workers Compensation

* Claims administration
* OSHA Compliance
* Policy cost
* Dividend plan reviews and audits
* Report and document accidents
* Safety plan creation, administration and training
* Work Comp billing reconciliation
* Safety audits
* NCCI rate reviews

PEO Employee Benefits

* Short term disability
* Long term disability
* Benefits handbook
* Dental insurance
* Health insurance
* Eligibility tracking
* COBRA compliance and administration
* Plan discrimination testing
* Carrier payments and account audits
* Annual plan cost reviews
* 401K administration
* Annual enrollments
* Flexible spending accounts administration
* Section 125 (pretax) premium audits
* Life Insurance plan administration
* Employee assistance plans (EAP) administration

PEO Human Resources

* Legal assistance establishment and retainers
* Employment policies
* Valid employee handbooks
* Manage insurance for Employment Practices Liability (EPLI)
* Unemployment claims administration
* Background checks
* Audit compliance with Wage and Hour (FLSA)
* Audit compliance with ADA – Disability Act
* Audit compliance with EEOC
* Audit compliance with OSHA
* Attendance audits
* Employment applications
* Applicant interviewer training practices
* I9 compliance

The exact set of services bundled for a PEO client are customized to the needs of the employer and his employees. The employer saves money, time and aggravation by partnering with a PEO.

The Only Way A Small Business Can Compete

A small business owner may feel that he or she cannot compete with a larger organization when it comes to hiring employees. Larger organizations often have extensive benefit plans that are very attractive to prospective employees and it is not unusual for a recruiter to be asked about benefits before salary when speaking to a potential employee.

Small companies can exploit this interest in benefit plans by turning to a Professional Employer Organization (PEO). A PEO can provide a small business with health, life and dental insurance and offers the all important workmen's comp coverage.

A business owner may waste hours on the internet researching potential PEO's based on geography, services offered and pricing when they could more easily turn to a PEO broker such as PEO-Quote.com. PEO brokers do all the research and work for business owners in order to help them choose the perfect PEO company for their group.

Think carefully before choosing a PEO and consider using a broker to help you wade through the myriad of Professional Employer Organizations.

What Is An Employee Assistance Program (EAP)?

An EAP is a program that offers counseling and assistance with personal and professional issues impacting employees. In the 1940s some employers offered alcohol rehabilitation programs to employees and this has expanded over time to include assessment and assistance with workplace difficulties, marriage and family issues, financial and legal matters and health issues. These programs are typically focus on relieving employee stress and encouraging counseling as an option for many of life's difficulties. Effective EAPs reduce employee absences and increase employee productivity.

Most Professional Employer Organizations include an EAP plan that will work for businesses and non-profits of any size.

Risk Management One Benefit Of Working With A PEO

The obvious benefit of partnering with a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) is the ability to offer top-notch benefits to employees. A less well known benefit of working with a PEO is that the PEO takes over risk management. The PEO becomes responsible for local, state and federal compliance with various laws and regulations. The ever complicated process of compliance can be handled entirely by the PEO allowing business owners to focus on income producing strategies.

Twenty Years Later Professional Employers Organizations More Popular Than Ever

Employee leasing became an industry as a result of TEFRA tax legislation in the 1970's. The tax-advantage of working with an employee leasing company became ever more attractive when businesses realized they can outsource all of their Human Resources functions while offering employees a myriad of benefits previously thought to be too expensive.

The industry association, the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO), celebrated the anniversary during their annual conference held September 20-22, 2007. NAPEO encourages members to offer a truly collaborative partnership with clients that goes far beyond simply offering benefits to employees.

Outsourcing has become a popular trend among businesses who look to consolidate business functions while saving money. This growing acceptance of outsourcing has helped the PEO industry to grow at a rapid pace. An important change during the past twenty years is that many states are regulating and licensing PEOs with some states even requiring that PEOs be bonded. These changes have made the industry more stable and more attractive to employers of all sizes.

To discover how you can partner with a PEO visit http://www.peo-quote.com

Health Savings Accounts can do double duty as backup for insurance, retirement booster

NEW YORK - New rules governing Health Savings Accounts are making them more attractive to consumers, who can use HSAs to help reduce health insurance costs now - and, potentially, in retirement. Health Savings Accounts are like Individual Retirement Accounts for health care. They were created by Congress in 2003 so that workers could cover some of their medical costs with pretax money if they have high-deductible health insurance plans.

The idea is that workers and their employers can fund the tax-free accounts, with withdrawals used for copays at doctors' offices, prescription and nonprescription medicines, and hospital services not covered by insurance. Because unused balances in the HSAs can be rolled over from year to year, some financial advisers are suggesting that the accounts can be a way for families to accumulate money to be used to cover health care costs in retirement, including Medicare deductibles and long-term care insurance.

JoAnn Mills Laing, author of "The Consumer's Guide to HSAs," said that there were 3.6 million HSA accounts at the end of 2006 with $5.1 billion in deposits, up from 1.1 million accounts with $1.2 billion in deposits at the end of 2005. She predicts further growth, in part because more companies are offering high-deductible insurance plans to their workers. That's because these plans are less costly for employers and employees than traditional health policies but still give workers coverage for medical catastrophes.

"Employees who hadn't been able to get insurance coverage are enthusiastic if they can high-deductible policies because it gives them peace of mind," said Laing, who is chief executive of Information Strategies Inc., a human resources consulting firm in Ridgefield, N.J. She pointed out that in addition to payments related to Medicare and long-term care insurance, seniors can use HSA dollars for chiropractic sessions, nursing services, dental care and glasses. To qualify, a health insurance plan must have a minimum deductible of $1,100 for an individual and $2,200 for a family. The maximum out-of-pocket expenses are set at $5,500 for an individual and $11,000 for a family.

Under the old rules, consumers could only set aside in their HSAs the equivalent of their insurance deductibles. The new rules have raised those limits so that an individual can put $2,850 into an HSA this year, while a family can put in $5,650. People 55 and older can add $800 as a "catch-up" contribution. Also new this year, according to the Internal Revenue Service, is that employees can ask their employers to make a one-time transfer of the balance in Flexible Spending Accounts or Health Reimbursement Arrangements into their HSAs. (FSAs and HRAs are specialized, employer-sponsored health plans.) And some consumers can exclude from their gross income an HSA funding from an IRA.

The rules are outlined in IRS Publication 969, "Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans." Qualifying medical expenses can be found in Publication 502, "Medical and Dental Expenses." Hugh Bromma, chief executive of Entrust Group, a retirement plan administrator in Reno, Nev., said high-deductible policies and HSAs "should be especially attractive to younger people who are healthy and don't expect a lot of claims." He doesn't see the HSA as a substitute for retirement savings plans, such as IRAs or company-sponsored 401(k) accounts, since the retirement plans generally allow people to save more. This year, for example, a worker can set aside up to $15,500 in pretax income in a 401(k) account. The funds grow tax-deferred, and are taxable when withdrawn in retirement.

HSAs also are funded with pretax dollars and grow tax free. But withdrawals are not taxed when used for qualified health care spending. "This means the money accumulates tax free and, if you don't use it, it's terrific savings," Bromma said. "So if you can, why not have both a retirement account and an HSA?" Bromma's firm specializes in self-directed retirement accounts, which make it easier for individuals to invest their savings in nontraditional ways, such as in real estate holdings or limited partnerships. He's seeing some of this investing in HSAs, too.

Laing said that about 90 percent of people covered by high-deductible health plans choose to set up HSAs. She added savers last year pulled out just 30 cents for every $1 they deposited - resulting in a balance of 70 cents for future use. "It grows tax free, so there's no reason not to put money into an HSA," she said. "It will be another way to supplement your retirement income."

Bill Makes HSAs More Flexible

The U.S. House and Senate on Saturday passed a bill that may increase the popularity of health saving accounts. The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (H.R. 6408) awaits President Bush's signature.

Under the legislation, employees and employers can contribute up to $2,850 for single coverage and $5,650 for families, even if the deductible is lower. Moreover, companies can contribute more money to HSAs for workers making less than $100,000 per year than for higher-income employees.

The legislation allows a one-time transfer of funds into an HSA from an individual retirement account, health reimbursement arrangement or flexible spending account. The provisions also permit workers hired during middle of the year to enroll in an HSA and make a full-year maximum contribution at that time.

Barry Barnett, a principal at PricewaterhouseCoopers, comments, "I think it's good. I think it'll drive more employers to adopt these plans. It allows people to put in more cash. As they have more cash at risk, they'll be better consumers."

John Hickman, a partner at Alston & Bird law firm, predicts, "This is probably the last, given the makeup of the [new] Congress, favorable HSA legislation we're going to see for a while. We fully expect all of the provisions to be signed [by the president]. Most of these are improvements."

Christopher McFadden, deputy business unit leader for Goldman Sachs' U.S. health care group, notes that Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) are not fans of HSAs and will head key committees on health policy. "What I hope is that this doesn't antagonize these two increasingly powerful members of Congress in a way that incites them to [reverse] the progress that has been made," he adds.

An analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities states, "HSAs provide a tax subsidy for virtually any out-of-pocket health care costs, including elective procedures not normally covered by health insurance. By enabling individuals to overfund their HSAs, the bill could encourage some people to spend a portion of their excess HSA balances on elective services they would not otherwise consume. The change would primarily benefit high-income individuals, since they are the people most likely to make such a transfer" from an IRA.

The bill garnered praise from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Benefits Council and America's Health Insurance Plans.

The bill makes "several important improvements to help the growing number of Americans enrolling in these plans and to increase the number of people who will find these plans attractive," says James Klein, American Benefits Council president.

"If you want consumers to prepare for long-term care, they need to develop a long-term strategy," says Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans. "With higher contribution limits that are indexed to inflation, HSAs will offer new opportunities for consumers to plan for their long-term care expenses."