ERISA
ERISA is the federal law governing employer benefit plans, setting fiduciary, disclosure, and claims rules for health and retirement benefits including those offered through PEOs.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act governs most private-sector benefit plans, and it applies to benefits arranged through a PEO just as it does to direct employer plans. Plan documents, summary plan descriptions, Form 5500 filings, and fiduciary duties all exist somewhere in a PEO benefits arrangement; the buyer question is which entity holds each one.
When evaluating a PEO health or retirement offer, ask who the plan sponsor and named fiduciary are, where the summary plan description comes from, and who files the Form 5500. Those answers identify the structure behind marketing terms such as "our benefits" and determine who responds to participant claims or a Department of Labor inquiry.