R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-75-8: Benefit plans.

(a) A client and a PEO shall each be deemed an employer for purposes of sponsoring retirement and welfare benefit plans for its covered employees.

(b) A fully-insured welfare benefit plan offered to the covered employees of a single PEO shall be considered a single-employer welfare benefit plan.

(c) For purposes of determining employer status under chapter 50 of title 27 (entitled the Rhode Island Small Employer Health Insurance Availability Act), a PEO shall be considered the employer of all of its covered employees and all covered employees of one or more clients participating in a health benefit plan sponsored by a single PEO shall be considered employees of the PEO.

(d) If a PEO offers to its covered employees any health benefit plan that is not fully-insured by an authorized insurer, the plan shall:

(1) Utilize a third-party administrator licensed to do business in this state;

(2) Hold all plan assets, including participant contributions, in a trust account; and

(3) Provide sound reserves for such plan as determined using generally accepted actuarial standards.