Benefits are the reason most small employers look at a professional employer organisation at all. Everything else the arrangement does can be bought more cheaply elsewhere; access to group cover negotiated across a large pool cannot. That makes the benefits package the thing to interrogate hardest, and it is usually the thing described in the least detail.
What you are actually being offered
Ask which carrier, which plan, and whether the plan is the provider's own multiple-employer arrangement or a policy you would be placed into separately. Ask for the summary of benefits and the employee contribution schedule at your headcount and your demographics, not a specimen. Two providers describing large-group access can be offering materially different cover, and the difference is invisible until you read the documents.
What it costs your employees, not just you
The administrative fee is your cost; the contribution schedule is theirs. An arrangement that lowers your fee and raises what your staff pay each month is not a saving, it is a transfer, and it will be read as one. Model the employee side at real salaries before you decide, particularly for your lowest-paid people, because that is where a percentage-based contribution bites hardest.
The exit, again
Benefits are the hardest part of leaving a PEO. Ask when the plan year renews, what notice is needed, whether staff can be moved without a gap, and what happens to anyone mid-treatment. An employer who plans the exit at the start keeps the option to leave; one who does not often finds the arrangement decides for them.
Questions people ask about peo employee benefits
What benefits does a PEO provide?
Typically health, dental and vision cover, retirement, and often life and disability, through the provider's own group arrangements. What matters is which carrier and which plan, so ask for the summary of benefits rather than the category list.
Are PEO benefits cheaper?
They can be, because the pool is larger than a small employer could assemble. Whether they are cheaper for you depends on your demographics and on the employee contribution schedule, which is the number to ask for.
What happens to benefits if I leave the PEO?
Your staff come off the provider's plans, so you need cover in place from the day you go. Ask about the renewal date, the notice period and anyone mid-treatment before you sign, not when you want to leave.