Justworks PEO benefits, compared with a plan you sponsor

It is not tax, legal, or insurance advice, and it is not an offer of coverage. We do not invent savings, participation results, or a rank among PEOs. The general PEO explainer is on PEO health insurance. The named-PEO comparison is on PEO versus a group health plan.

What Justworks is

Justworks' official PEO page describes certified PEO services that combine benefits, payroll, HR, and compliance on one platform. Justworks says its PEO is IRS-certified and ESAC-accredited. Official help-center material describes a co-employment relationship in which Justworks takes on certain responsibilities, such as securing workers' compensation and registering and maintaining state tax and state unemployment insurance accounts.

Justworks publishes two PEO plans in that help-center article:

• PEO Basic — software integrations, analytics, HR consulting and tools, support, 401(k) and disability insurance, time tracking, and access to health insurance reimbursements that Justworks calls CHOICE (formerly ICHRA) through an integrated partner, Thatch.
• PEO Plus — everything in Basic, plus small and large group medical, dental, and vision insurance, HSA and FSA accounts, and additional benefits Justworks lists on its official pages.

The official Plus page also describes the ability to offer health insurance through Justworks-sponsored plans, an open-market plan, or, in some cases, a transfer of an existing policy with approved carriers in certain states. Justworks names Aetna, Kaiser Permanente, and UnitedHealthcare as example carriers on that page, and notes that some carriers are only available in select states or regions when accessed through Justworks. We will confirm current carrier names and states on a proposal rather than treat that list as a national guarantee.

Who it is for, and how eligibility works

Justworks is a PEO model, so it can fit employers who want payroll, HR, and benefits under one co-employment arrangement. It is not a substitute for a Florida fully insured small-group policy by itself, and it does not place Justworks on Florida's 2026 ACA small-group carrier list. A Florida employer can still compare Justworks with Florida Blue, UnitedHealthcare, or AvMed, or with an ICHRA.

Justworks' official benefits FAQs say that, in general, full-time U.S.-based employees, certain owners, and part-time U.S.-based employees working on average at least 30 hours of service per week are eligible for benefits, and that Justworks' plan year is November 1 through October 31. Official carrier-eligibility material for companies newly offering group medical plans through Justworks describes minimum requirements that Justworks evaluates on a rolling monthly basis, including — for Aetna medical, in the current article — a minimum of two eligible employees from different households enrolled, a minimum of 40% of benefits-eligible employees enrolled, a limit on the share of enrolled employees on COBRA, and at least one W-2 employee. Those are Justworks' and the carrier's stated requirements, and they can change. We will confirm the current rules rather than treat them as universal.

How Justworks sits next to a plan you sponsor

A company-sponsored small-group plan, SHOP policy, level-funded plan, or ICHRA keeps the employer as the benefits sponsor (or the ICHRA sponsor). Justworks Plus, in Justworks' description, can provide access to group medical, dental, and vision inside the PEO. Justworks Basic, in Justworks' description, can provide an ICHRA-style reimbursement through Thatch without a Justworks-sponsored group medical plan. Either can be the right fit. We will not describe Justworks as cheaper than a standalone plan.

If you already use Justworks and want to move to a company-sponsored plan, that is possible in principle at a renewal or an agreed end date. Justworks' published plan year (November 1 through October 31) is one date to plan around; the client service agreement controls. We would quote the group market and the census, not promise underwriting results. See switch benefits broker when the question is a change of advisor as well as a change of structure.

Justworks' CHOICE option, officially described as formerly ICHRA and administered through Thatch, is also a reminder that an employer can compare a PEO reimbursement model with a company-sponsored ICHRA run through Take Command, Thatch, or PeopleKeep without joining a PEO. We will keep those designs distinct on a proposal so the employer, not the co-employment relationship, remains the ICHRA sponsor when that is the chosen path.

What we need for a proposal