The Employer Benefits Playbook: Abbott Family Insurance Podcast

Most “1 05 wellness plans” are sold as a tax hack, not a real benefit, and that is exactly why owners end up nervous later. In this episode, Matthew Abbott breaks down where those wellness style 1 oh 5 arrangements go off the rails, how recent IRS guidance changed the game, and why a properly structured SIMRP inside ProfitGuard Plus is a different animal altogether. If you want lower payroll tax,...

High cost specialty medications and GLP 1 drugs are blowing up pharmacy costs for small and midsize employers, but “just raise copays” is not a strategy. In this episode, Matthew Abbott breaks down a practical playbook for owners who feel like one or two prescriptions are hijacking their health plan. He explains what makes specialty meds so expensive, how PBM contracts and weak utilization managem...

Employees do not wake up wanting to raid their 401k. They reach for loans and hardship withdrawals because the rest of their financial safety net failed first. In this episode, Matthew Abbott walks through a simple way for employers to reframe vesting, loans, and hardship withdrawals so employees see the retirement plan as a future paycheck, not an emergency ATM. He explains how to talk about vest...

Pharmacy costs are hammering small and midsize employers, and many business owners don’t understand why their  prescription drug spend  is suddenly exploding. In this episode, Matthew Abbott breaks down what’s really driving rising  pharmacy costs for employers  and explains how  Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs)  influence your  prescription drug benefit  behind the scenes. You’ll hear how  specia...

In this episode, Matthew Abbott breaks down one of the most confusing decisions for small and midsize employers: how to choose the right health plan structure for your team—and how a Self‑Insured Medical Reimbursement Plan (SIMRP) fits into that strategy. We cut through the alphabet soup of PPO, HMO, HSA‑eligible high‑deductible plans, MVP, MEC, ICHRA, and individual health insurance, and put them...

In this episode, Matthew from Abbott Family Insurance breaks down how “rich” a small business benefits package really needs to be to stay competitive without wrecking the budget. He walks through a simple three-layer framework—foundation, stand-out perks, and competitive edge and explains how tax-efficient strategies like SIMRP can help fund better benefits using payroll tax savings instead of pur...