Managed Benefits · Law Firms
Law firm benefits run on class distinctions: partner plans that differ from associate plans, staff eligibility on its own track, and partners whose premiums carry different tax treatment entirely. BEG Managed Benefits, powered by isolved, administers all of it cleanly, nationwide. You keep your broker; we do the administration.
Your monthly estimate on screen - no call required
The Law Firm Benefits Problem
Source: IRS Notice 2011-1 on insured group health plan nondiscrimination rules.
Law Firm Benefits, by Class
| Class | Where it breaks | What administration fixes |
|---|---|---|
| Equity partners | Self-employed tax treatment on premiums gets mixed up with W-2 staff records | Partner-class records kept distinct, visible to your CPA at tax time |
| Associates | Lateral moves and promotions land in the wrong class or waiting period | Class rules applied automatically on the hire or promotion date |
| Of counsel / contract attorneys | Ambiguous eligibility, especially on hours-based tests | A defined tier with its own eligibility logic, not a manual judgment call |
| Staff | Turnover churn creates enrollment and COBRA notice gaps | Standard workflows for enrollment, terminations, and notices |
A Common Scenario
A 60-attorney firm brings on a lateral partner in March, mid-plan-year, with a start date the recruiting partner locked in before anyone checked the benefits calendar. The partner class has a different contribution structure and no standard waiting period; associate-class defaults do not apply. Without a system enforcing class rules, the firm administrator either delays enrollment past the partner's expectations or manually reconstructs the partner-class setup from an old email thread.
With BEG Managed Benefits, the partner class already exists as a configured tier. HR selects the class, the system applies the right plans and contribution level, and the partner enrolls online within days of the start date, no improvisation required.
What Gets Handled
Partner, associate, and staff classes are configured with their own plans, contributions, and waiting periods, so a lateral hire lands in the right tier automatically. Everyone enrolls online, life events run as self-service workflows, and deductions sync to payroll with partner-class records kept distinct for the different tax treatment their premiums carry.
Eligibility is tracked firm-wide, including part-time paralegals and support staff whose hours vary, offers of coverage are documented by class, and Forms 1094-C and 1095-C are produced on schedule. The clean class data this maintains is also what your tax advisors need when they run nondiscrimination testing on the firm's plan design.
A dedicated Managed Benefits Specialist runs open enrollment for every class, processes lateral arrivals and departures with their notices and deadlines, and keeps carrier records current. A Benefits Auditing Analyst checks the data for the errors firms find late: an associate promoted to partner still enrolled under the associate class, or a departed attorney generating carrier charges a year on.
How You Buy It
Benefits Admin Software is self-service enrollment in one system. Software + ACA Compliance adds eligibility tracking and Forms 1094-C and 1095-C. Fully Managed adds a dedicated specialist and auditing analyst who run it all. Full detail on the managed benefits overview.
Your monthly estimate on screen - no call required
Partner draws and payroll the bigger burden? BEG's core service is managed payroll for law firms, and the people-policy side lives in law firm HR outsourcing.
Questions
Plan setup across partner, associate, and staff classes, open enrollment, life-event changes, carrier updates, eligibility tracking, deduction sync with payroll, and ACA reporting, all in one system of record.
Yes. Class-based eligibility applies the right plans, contributions, and waiting periods to each tier automatically. Partners as self-employed individuals also carry different tax treatment on premiums, which administration keeps visible for your CPA.
Self-insured plans that favor highly compensated individuals can fail Internal Revenue Code section 105(h) testing, making benefits taxable to the very people the design favored. Clean class data is the starting point for your advisors.
No. Your broker keeps advising on design and placing coverage. BEG Managed Benefits handles the administration behind those plans: enrollment, eligibility classes, data, and filings.
Yes. A lateral partner or associate arriving in March gets the right class, waiting period, and enrollment window applied by the system, not negotiated from memory while the recruiting partner hovers.
No. There is no co-employment and no master plan takeover. BEG Managed Benefits, powered by isolved, administers the plans you and your broker already chose. Your firm stays the employer.
The class change is applied in the system on the effective date: new eligibility, new contribution level, new waiting period rules if any apply, and a clean break from the associate-class record. No one has to remember to move the person manually before the next carrier bill goes out.
Of counsel, contract, and staff attorneys are their own eligibility tier if the firm wants one, distinct from equity partner and associate classes. Hours and status are tracked so a contract attorney who moves to a permanent role gets reclassified without a manual eligibility review.
A monthly per-employee fee, typically well under the $60,000 to $100,000 a firm would spend to bring the role in house. You get the software, the ACA filings, and, on Fully Managed, a specialist and auditing analyst, without adding headcount.
Ready?
Answer a few questions, get your exact number in about 90 seconds. No call required, no commitment.
Your monthly estimate on screen - no call required
