Benefits for small law firms, written around partners, associates, and staff
A small law firm is a professional office with a sharp split in how people are engaged. Partners may be partners, not employees. Associates, paralegals, secretaries, and intake staff usually are employees. A benefits plan that ignores that split will fail at the first eligibility question.
Ares Benefit Group works with law firms of about 2 to 50 employees. We compare a group plan, an ICHRA, and a QSEHRA for the people who are actually employees of the firm.
How small firms actually staff
- Partners and owners. HealthCare.gov states that CHOICE Arrangements (ICHRAs) are for employees, not for a self-employed business owner or that owner's spouse. Partners in a partnership are often not employees. We will look at the firm's entity type before we put a partner in any arrangement.
- Associates, paralegals, and staff are the usual census. These are the people a group plan or HRA is built for. Salaried versus hourly can be a permitted ICHRA class if you need to separate groups within the rules.
- Part-time docket clerks, floaters, and contract attorneys. Contract attorneys who are true independent contractors are not put on the employee plan. Part-time staff should be a conscious eligibility choice. See part-time employee benefits.
- A second office or a remote associate in another state. Increasingly common even in small firms. See multi-state teams. An ICHRA is often a practical comparison when people are not all in one city.
- Recruiting associates and staff. A specific medical, disability, and life offer is part of how a small firm hires against a larger one. We will not invent salary or attrition figures.
Structures we compare for a team this size
For most firms this size, the work is to cover employees cleanly and to be honest about whether partners are in or out. Group coverage and an ICHRA are the usual comparison; a QSEHRA can fit when the firm will not also sponsor a group plan.
- SHOP and other group coverage, when you want one employer-sponsored medical plan and you can meet eligibility and participation rules.
- A level-funded arrangement, when a carrier offers one for your census. We compare it with fully insured group coverage and do not treat either as automatically better.
- An ICHRA, when you want a set contribution and employees choose individual coverage. Permitted classes include full-time, part-time, hourly or salaried, work location, and a waiting period. It is for employees, not for a self-employed owner.
- A QSEHRA, when you are not an applicable large employer and you are not offering a group health plan. See ICHRA vs QSEHRA if both are on the table.
- Section 125 for pre-tax employee premium contributions on a group plan. A QSEHRA cannot be funded by salary reduction.
- Group life and disability and voluntary benefits.
A company under 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalents, is generally not required by federal law to offer health coverage. If you have fewer than 25 full-time equivalents and you meet the wage, contribution, and SHOP rules, look at the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit.
What to send us
A roster of employees, the entity type, how partners are paid, hours, and any offices or remote states.
Ares Benefit Group LLC5701 E Hillsborough Ave
Tampa, FL 33610
(813) 540-1299
admin@aresbenefitgroup.com
Our agents are licensed in all 50 states.
Frequently asked questions
Can partners be in the group plan?
It depends on the entity and on whether a partner is an employee under the rules that apply. We will not assume that a partner can use an ICHRA. Bring the operating agreement or a plain description of the entity, and we will work with your tax advisor when the answer is not obvious.
We have 6 employees and 3 partners. What size are we?
Employee-size tests have their own counting rules, and partners are not automatically counted as employees. We will run the tests from the actual facts, not from the number of names on the letterhead.