Frequently Asked Questions

Most insurance agencies are rated by financial organizations, but what about PEOs? Ensuring compliance with industry organizations and trusting that they are financially responsible isn’t always evident. Silverstein HR vets all of our PEO partners to ensure they are financially sound, and we endeavor to work with PEOs who are accredited by ESAC or the IRS. ESAC Accredited PEOs are backed by assurance bonds of $15 million to protect their clients.

Certification as a Certified Professional Employer Organization (CPEO) affects the employment tax liabilities of both the CPEO and its customers. To become and remain certified under the CPEO program, CPEOs must meet tax status, background, experience, business location, financial reporting, bonding and other requirements described in the statute and regulations.

You can learn more about them here:

ESAC – https://www.esac.org/

https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/about-certified-professional-employer-organization

When you partner with a PEO, they handle your tax payments and manage complex tax systems. Some of these taxes include FICA taxes, Medicare and Social Security taxes, State Unemployment tax, Federal Unemployment tax and other state and local taxes, to improve your efficiency and ensure your organization remains compliant. As a co-employer of your employees, the PEO assumes responsibility and liability for managing your payroll and unemployment taxes.

Just like independent insurance agencies that quote your business insurance we have many PEOs to choose from.

Howard Silverstein, CEO of Silverstein HR Inc. has 35+ years of experience providing employee benefits, payroll, insurance, PEO, HR and compliance services in New York, Florida and throughout the United States. We have the expertise and understanding of how PEOs work and when it’s best to use them. Our negotiation skills are unparalleled and we continually strive to provide the best fit and PEO services for our customers.   Most benefit brokers and PEO direct sales personnel don’t have the experience we have to offer.

Most employee benefit brokers only use the services of a PEO Advisor (sometimes referred to as a PEO broker) when in fear that they will lose their existing group health insurance account. They don’t have the expertise and full understanding of how a PEO works, nor the background in workers compensation, payroll, HR and affiliated services.

Similarly, PEO direct sales people know the platform for the company where they work, but not most of the other 400+ PEOs.  Once in their system and for renewals you won’t have an advisor like us negotiating for you.

Professional Employer Organizations’ fees can vary and they may charge a percentage of the employee’s salary or a flat rate per employee. Some PEOs charge additional that may include training, consulting and workers’ compensation safety programs. When comparing PEO costs, you need to consider not only the monthly administrative cost, but group health insurance and workers compensation premiums, 401(k) administrative fees and fund charges, SUTA, setup fees, and possible training fees.

What kind of service should you expect working with a PEO to handle your payroll, HR, workers’ compensation and benefits? How many choices of group health insurance plans is the PEO willing to offer your size group? What types of supplemental benefits do the offer? What is PEO’s role when it comes to taxes and regulatory compliance? Do you offer a workers’ compensation safety program? What type of technology does the PEO offer? Is your point of contact a credentialed HR manager? How do you know what you’re paying for?  These are some of the reasons you need transparent pricing.

A PEO will typically provide comprehensive human resources-related services (HR), including payroll and administration, assistance with hiring and training, employee benefits and rewards packages, insurance policies to protect your organization, as well as help with state and federal compliance issues.

By partnering with a PEO, your organization will be able to adopt some of the most beneficial and desirable products and services normally reserved for much larger companies.  Furthermore, the added efficiency achieved by hiring a PEO will greatly streamline all things HR-related, which, aside from helping your company to run more seamlessly, will also likely save your business a substantial amount of money over the long term. Thus allowing the management and valuable personnel more time to concentrate on selling the products and/or services that help grow and contribute to the success of their business.

Yes! While Financial Advisors can help with your 401(k) and other investments, working with a PEO advisor and a financial/insurance agent, together, they may be able to provide additional benefits and solutions. Some PEOs allow the group health insurance and/or the 401(k) to be administered separately. In most cases because of the economy of scale the PEO’s group health insurance premiums can be significantly less and the cost to administer the 401(k) also less expensive to administer. It would be an advantage if the PEO Advisory firm has experience with the insurance products offered.

When comparing PEO companies, understanding the number of team members that will be assigned to your account is important. The level of support will vary greatly if you have 1 representative for 50 employees versus 1 representative for 500 employees. Set clear expectations when negotiating the level of staff support.

We are seeing an increase in the number of employment-related lawsuits, which necessitates the need for Employment Practices Liability Insurance, or EPLI, which provides coverage for legal defense of employment-related issues. This type of insurance coverage can be obtained through a PEO who will present options of coverage depending on the risk.

Workplace accidents cost nearly $250 billion per year. Therefore, your PEO will not only recommend risk management and workers’ compensation insurance but also provide safety programs to reduce costs associated with workplace injuries and downtime. Some of these programs include drug testing, loss control, safety procedures, safety training and more.

When just starting out, or when you’re a growing SMB, hiring a dedicated HR manager may not be feasible. A PEO can help eliminate your HR burdens of payroll, benefits, workers compensation, and full-service human resources from hire to retire and everything in-between; and at a substantial savings. This includes guidance and advice about government compliance issues, pandemic issues as we are experiencing currently and about growth strategies as it relates to human resources. Your contact in a PEO may be a credentialed HR manager and depending on the size and/or structure of the PEO, they may have a separate benefits manager.