A New Partnership Built for Better Benefits and Better Payroll
Abbott Family Insurance and Above the Rim Payroll & Payments have partnered to bring ProfitGuard Plus to eligible businesses and Churches with W2 employees. Together, we are helping employers improve employee benefits, reduce payroll tax exposure, and make administration simpler through one coordinated payroll and benefits experience.
Quick Answers for Employers
Above the Rim Payroll & Payments selected Abbott Family Insurance as its ProfitGuard Plus partner after evaluating multiple employee benefits and payroll tax optimization providers.
ProfitGuard Plus is a broader employer strategy built to improve benefits, create payroll tax efficiency, and strengthen employee value for eligible W2 employers.
SIMRP is one compliant component inside ProfitGuard Plus, not the headline and not a standalone wellness or tax strategy.
Eligible employers can improve benefits and payroll efficiency without changing their employees’ gross wage or replacing their existing major medical plan.
ProfitGuard Plus is designed to help participating employees receive more take home value while employers may reduce payroll tax exposure through a properly structured benefits plan.
Modeled results for eligible employers can average approximately $2,500 per participating employee per year in combined payroll tax savings and added employee benefit value.
Results vary by employee wages, payroll composition, plan design, enrollment, participation, and employer eligibility, so every opportunity begins with a payroll specific review.
Above the Rim brings innovative payroll technology, fast implementation, payment solutions, and a lifetime rate lock designed to give employers more predictability.
Abbott Family Insurance provides the ProfitGuard Plus strategy, plan design, employee education, benefits administration, implementation coordination, and ongoing support.
The employer process is designed to be simple: review the opportunity, model the payroll, determine fit, coordinate implementation, educate employees, and support the plan over time.
A Partnership Built on Fit
We are excited to announce a new partnership between Abbott Family Insurance and Above the Rim Payroll & Payments.
This partnership gives eligible Above the Rim clients access to ProfitGuard Plus, our flagship employer benefits and payroll tax optimization strategy. The goal is straightforward: help businesses and Churches with W2 employees improve benefits, reduce unnecessary payroll tax exposure, and create more value for their employees without creating more work for their internal teams.
ProfitGuard Plus is the larger strategy. SIMRP is one compliant component inside that strategy.
This distinction matters. ProfitGuard Plus is not a standalone wellness plan, a copied and pasted tax approach, or a product that gets dropped into payroll with no support behind it. It is a coordinated benefits and payroll strategy that includes plan design, documentation, payroll coordination, employee education, enrollment support, and ongoing administration.
For the right employer, it can create meaningful value on both sides of the paycheck.
The Introduction That Started It
Every strong partnership has a story behind it.
For this one, we have to start with our good friend, Devin Vandivier of VLG, Vandivier Legacy Group.
Devin continued to follow up, make introductions, and keep the conversation moving until we were all in the right room with the right people. Anyone who knows Devin knows he is persistent, and in this case, we are especially glad he was.
That introduction led to conversations with the Above the Rim team and a quick connection with Phil. We discovered that we share many of the same hometown stomping grounds, knew some of the same people growing up, and even had a few funny connections from our high school years.
Small world.
But while the personal connection made the conversations easy, it was not the reason the partnership came together.
Above the Rim did its homework.
Above the Rim Vetted the Field
Above the Rim Payroll & Payments interviewed Abbott Family Insurance alongside multiple providers in the employee benefits and payroll tax optimization space.
The process included conversations with Capstone, LLH, Avtiv8, and Champion Health. The Above the Rim team asked questions, compared strategies, looked at implementation processes, and evaluated which organization could best support its clients for the long term.
After that review, Abbott Family Insurance came out on top.
We are grateful for the opportunity, but we also understand the responsibility that comes with it. Above the Rim was not looking for a generic wellness program, a flashy sales pitch, or another product to add to a list of services.
They wanted a partner that could help clients get more value from the payroll and benefits structure they already have.
That is what ProfitGuard Plus was built to do.
Why ProfitGuard Plus Fits
ProfitGuard Plus is designed for employers that want to improve their employee benefits while managing payroll costs more efficiently.
Many employers see payroll as a fixed expense. Wages are wages. Payroll taxes are payroll taxes. Benefits are another line item. But with the right structure, there can be an opportunity inside that payroll process.
For eligible employers, ProfitGuard Plus can reduce the taxable payroll base associated with qualifying benefits. That may reduce employer payroll tax exposure while helping participating employees receive more take home value from the same gross wages.
The goal is not to cut wages.
The goal is not to replace real benefits with a gimmick.
The goal is to build a stronger benefits package that creates measurable value for the employer and the employee.
ProfitGuard Plus is designed to support:
Meaningful medical and preventative care benefits for participating employees
More take home value for participating employees
Reduced payroll tax exposure for eligible employers
A stronger recruiting and retention message
A coordinated payroll and benefits experience
Employee education, enrollment support, and ongoing benefits administration
For some eligible employers, modeled results can average approximately $2,500 per participating employee per year in combined payroll tax savings and added employee benefit value. That is not a guarantee. Actual results depend on your payroll, employee wages, benefit design, participation, enrollment, and organizational eligibility.
That is why we start with a review of your actual payroll and benefits structure before making a recommendation. The current Above the Rim client materials also present this as a modeled estimate that varies by payroll and plan design.ATR
Why Above the Rim Stands Out
Above the Rim is exactly the kind of partner we want to work with.
They are innovative.
They move quickly.
They understand that employers do not need more complexity.
And they have technology built to help clients grow with confidence.
One of their most notable differentiators is their lifetime rate lock. In an industry where businesses are used to changing prices, unexpected fees, and frustrating renewals, that kind of predictability is rare.
It tells us that Above the Rim is focused on more than winning a payroll account. They are focused on building long term client relationships.
They have also built meaningful momentum. Above the Rim has processed approximately $1.6 billion in payroll so far this year and is positioned for significant future growth as additional household brands come on board.
That growth matters because it shows the market is responding to their technology, service, and approach.
We are excited to pair that momentum with ProfitGuard Plus.
Better Together
Payroll and benefits should not operate in separate worlds.
Payroll affects wages, taxes, deductions, employee experience, compliance, reporting, and direct deposit every pay period. Benefits influence employee wellbeing, recruiting, retention, and the total value of an employee’s compensation package.
When payroll and benefits teams coordinate properly, employers get a smoother experience and employees get a better result.
Above the Rim Payroll & Payments brings payroll technology, payment capabilities, client service, and a fast implementation mindset.
Abbott Family Insurance brings ProfitGuard Plus, employee benefits strategy, SIMRP support, plan design, compliance coordination, employee education, enrollment support, and ongoing benefits administration.
Together, we can help employers make payroll a more strategic part of their business or Church.
A Simple Process
A great strategy is only useful if it can be implemented without disrupting the organization.
That is why our process is designed to remain straightforward.
First, we review your current payroll and employee benefits structure.
Next, we model the opportunity based on your actual employee count, wages, payroll composition, and plan design.
Then, we determine whether ProfitGuard Plus is a fit for your business or Church.
If the strategy makes sense, our teams coordinate plan documentation, payroll setup, employee communication, education, enrollment, and ongoing support.
Your role is to make an informed decision for your organization.
Our role is to make the process organized, understandable, and simple to manage.
Above the Rim and Abbott Family Insurance are built to help employers move from a conversation to implementation without unnecessary friction. The program materials describe employer involvement as three key touch points, with plan design, payroll coding, enrollment, and ongoing support coordinated by the partner teams.ATR Cadence/Individual one pagers/ATR-PGP-06-Time-Investment.pdf
The Future Is Built on Value
This partnership is about more than payroll processing and insurance products.
It is about giving employers a better way to create value.
A better way to approach benefits.
A better way to think about payroll taxes.
And a better way to support the people who make their organization work.
We are thankful to Devin Vandivier for helping make the connection. We are proud that Above the Rim selected Abbott Family Insurance after a thorough review of the market. And we are excited to work with Phil and the full Above the Rim Payroll & Payments team as we help businesses and Churches across America move forward.
If you are an Above the Rim client with 10 or more W2 employees, now is the time to see what ProfitGuard Plus could look like for your organization.
Reach out to your Above the Rim representative or contact Abbott Family Insurance for a clear, no pressure review of your payroll and benefits opportunity.
Actual results vary based on payroll composition, plan design, employee participation, and eligibility.
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