Employee benefits for companies with 2 to 50 employees
Ares Benefit Group advises companies with 2 to 50 employees on health coverage and the benefits that sit around it. We compare the structures that actually fit a firm of this size — a fully insured group plan, a level-funded plan, SHOP coverage, an ICHRA, or a QSEHRA — and we help you put the chosen design in place, including payroll administration and ancillary coverage.
We work with owners, HR directors, and finance leads. The first conversation is about structure, census, contribution, and timing. It is not a product pitch.
What we advise on
- ICHRA — an employer-funded reimbursement employees use for individual health coverage
- QSEHRA — a defined-contribution reimbursement available to eligible employers that are not applicable large employers and that do not offer a group health plan
- SHOP coverage — the Small Business Health Options Program, including whether the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit may be in reach
- Level-funded plans — a fixed monthly funding arrangement that includes stop-loss, compared with fully insured group coverage
- Section 125 cafeteria plans and premium-only payroll administration
- Group life and disability and voluntary benefits such as dental and vision
- Multi-state workforces — coverage when people work in more than one state
- Benefits renewal and a benefits RFP or broker review before you go to market
A company with fewer than 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalents, is generally not an applicable large employer under the ACA, and is not required to offer health coverage. Many still do, because a considered benefits program helps them hire and keep people. See Do employers under 50 have to offer health insurance?.
How an engagement runs
- You send a roster, the states where people work, what you offer today, and your renewal date if you have one.
- We compare the structures that fit a 2-to-50-employee company and recommend one, with the contribution and compliance work that comes with it.
- We help you implement: carrier or HRA setup, employee notices, enrollment, and the payroll pieces.
- We stay on the file for the next renewal, and for the year your headcount approaches the applicable large employer line.
Our agents are licensed in all 50 states. The firm is based in Tampa and works with Tampa Bay employers as well as companies with people in other states.
A note on scope
This practice is built for employers. We do not use this site to shop individual or family policies as a consumer service. If you are deciding how the company should fund coverage, including an HRA that employees use to buy individual plans, start with a proposal.