Setting Up Benefit Deductions

This chapter provides overviews of the benefit deductions process and benefit triggers and discusses how to review benefit deductions.

Understanding the Delivered Benefit Deduction Processing Flow

This section discusses the process for calculating benefit deductions, including:

• The general framework.

• Benefit deduction initialization.

• Health plan processing.

• Savings plan processing.

• Life insurance processing.

• Delivered benefit deduction elements.

• Delivered benefit arrays.

• Scheduling deductions using generation control.

General Framework

PeopleSoft Global Payroll for United States is designed to integrate with the Manage Base Benefits business process of PeopleSoft Human Resources and PeopleSoft Benefits Administration to calculate benefit deductions. We have provided a number of benefit deductions—medical, dental, basic life, supplemental life, spouse life, and 401k—that meet common processing requirements.

Benefit deductions are processed according to the section definition called STD DED PRC NPV. Within the STD DED PRC NPV definition, benefit deductions are grouped according to plan type. In addition, the placement of the plan types is based on whether the deduction is taken before or after federal and state taxes. Medical, dental, and savings plan deductions are defined as before-tax deductions. Basic life, supplemental life, and spouse life are defined as after-tax deductions.

Note. Federal employee taxes, state employee taxes, repayments, savings bonds, general deductions, and garnishments are not part of benefit deductions and are not discussed in this chapter.

Benefit Deduction Initialization

The benefit deduction initialization process, BEN DED INIT, is designed to process the arrays BEN AR PRIMARY JOB and BEN AR BEN PROG.

The BEN AR PRIMARY JOB loads the Primary Job and Include Deductions fields from the Primary Jobs Flags page located in Human Resources into variables.

BEN AR BEN PROG loads the Benefit Program field from the Ben.Prog.Partic page in Human Resources into a variable.

Health Plan Processing

When processing health plans, the system is designed to process:

1. An eligibility check.

2. Medical deductions.

3. Dental deductions.

Eligibility Check

To perform the eligibility check, the system:

1. Processes BEN FM BASIC ELIG.

   BEN FM BASIC ELIG looks at the Primary Job and Include Deductions check boxes. If the check boxes are not selected, then zero is assigned to the formula BEN FM BASIC ELIG and to the variable BEN VR BASIC ELIG.

2. If BEN FM BASIC ELIG equals one, the system processes the section HEALTH INIT.

   HEALTH INIT calls the array BEN AR HLTH PLANS. BEN AR HLTH PLANS uses the formula BEN FM HLTH PLANS to retrieve the employee's health benefit enrollment information for plan types 10 and 11 from the Health Benefit Election page in Human Resources.

Medical Deductions

To calculate medical deductions, the system:

1. Performs another eligibility check using the formula BEN FM MED ELIG.

   If retroactive adjustments exist, and if the employee's plan type 10 election coverage is not blank, then one is assigned to the formula BEN FM MED ELIG.

   If the value of BEN VR BASIC ELIG equals zero, then zero is assigned to the formula BEN FM MED ELIG.

   If the employee's plan type 10 election coverage equals blank, T, or W, then zero is assigned to the formula BEN FM MED ELIG.

   If the Primary Job check box for this employee is selected, then one is assigned to the formula BEN FM MED ELIG.

2. If BEN FM MED ELIG equals one, the system processes the section MEDICAL DED. MEDICAL DED uses:

   1. The formula BEN FM PLN TYP 10 to set plan type 10-specific search criteria.

   2. The array BEN AR BEN PRG DEF to retrieve benefit option and cost information from the Benefit Program page in Human Resources.

   3. The arrays BEN AR RATE TBL and BEN AR RATE DAT2 to retrieve benefit rate data from the BN_RATE_TBL and BN_RATE_DATA tables respectively.

   4. The array BEN AR CALC RULE to retrieve the calculation rules from the Calculation Rules page in Human Resources.

   5. The deduction MEDICAL EE to calculate the employee's portion of the deduction. MEDICAL EE uses the formula BEN FM MED EE COST.

   6. The deduction MEDICAL ER to calculate the employer's portion of the deduction. MEDICAL ER uses the formula BEN FM MED ER COST.

Dental Deductions

To calculate dental deductions, the system:

1. Performs another eligibility check using the formula BEN FM DEN ELIG.

   If retroactive adjustments exist, and if the employee's plan type 11 election coverage is not blank, then one is assigned to the formula BEN FM DEN ELIG.

   If the value of BEN VR BASIC ELIG equals zero, then zero is assigned to the formula BEN FM DEN ELIG.

   If the employee's plan type 11 election coverage equals blank, T, or W, then zero is assigned to the formula BEN FM DEN ELIG.

   If the Primary Job field for this employee is selected, then one is assigned to the formula BEN FM DEN ELIG.

2. If BEN FM DEN ELIG equals one, the system processes the section DENTAL DED. DENTAL DED uses:

   1. The formula BEN FM PLN TYP 11 to set plan type 11-specific search criteria.

   2. The array BEN AR BEN PRG DEF to retrieve benefit option and cost information from the Benefit Program page in Human Resources.

   3. The arrays BEN AR RATE TBL and BEN AR RATE DAT2 to retrieve benefit rate data from the BN_RATE_TBL and BN_RATE_DATA tables respectively.

   4. The array BEN AR CALC RULE to retrieve the calculation rules from the Calculation Rules page in Human Resources.

   5. The deduction DENTAL EE to calculate the employee's portion of the deduction. DENTAL EE uses the formula BEN FM DED EE COST.

   6. The deduction DENTAL ER to calculate the employer's portion of the deduction. DENTAL ER uses the formula BEN FM DEN ER COST.

Savings Plan Processing

When processing savings plans, the system is designed to process:

1. An eligibility check.

2. 401k deductions.

Eligibility Check

To perform the eligibility check, the system:

1. Processes BEN FM BASIC ELIG.

   This is the same eligibility check performed by the health plan process.

2. If BEN FM BASIC ELIG equals one, the system will process the section SAVINGS INIT.

   SAVINGS INIT calls the array BEN AR SAV PLANS. BEN AR SAV PLANS uses the formula BEN FM SAV PLANS to retrieve the employee's savings plan enrollment information for plan type 40 from the Savings Plan Election page in Human Resources. SAVINGS INIT also calls the date element GP SEG END DT EXTR to extract the year, month, and day based on the segment end date.

401k Deductions

To calculate savings plan deductions, the system:

1. Performs another eligibility check using the formula BEN FM SAV ELIG.

   If retroactive adjustments exist, and if the employee's plan type 40 election coverage is not blank, then one is assigned to the formula BEN FM SAV ELIG.

   If the employee's plan type 40 election coverage equals blank, T, or W, then zero is assigned to the formula BEN FM SAV ELIG.

   If the Primary Job and Include Deduction check boxes are selected, then one is assigned to the formula BEN FM SAV ELIG.

   If the Primary Job check box is selected, but the Include Deduction check box is not selected, and the Flat Amount field in the Before Tax Investment group box on the Saving Plan Elections page has a value greater than zero, then one is assigned to the formula BEN FM SAV ELIG.

   If the Primary Job check box is not selected, but the Include Deductions check box is selected, and the Percent of Earnings field in the Before Tax Investment group box on the Saving Plan Elections page has a value greater than zero, one is assigned to the formula BEN FM SAV ELIG.

2. If BEN FM SAV ELIG equals one, the system processes the section 401K DED. 401K DED uses:

   1. The formula BEN FM PLN TYP 40 to set plan type 40-specific search criteria.

   2. The array BEN AR BEN PRG DEF to retrieve benefit option and cost information from the Benefit Program page in Human Resources.

   3. The array BEN AR SAV MGMT retrieves the 402G Ext Amt field from the Savings Mgt page in Human Resources.

   4. The array BEN AR SAV PLN PRM to retrieve the Before-Tax field in the Up-To-Limit group box on the Savings Plan Table - Employee Limit on Investments page in Human Resources.

   5. The array BEN AR LIMIT to retrieve limit information from the Limit Table page in Human Resources.

   6. The deduction 401K EE to calculate the employee's savings deduction.

      401K EE uses the formula BEN FM 401K EE. The 401K EE deduction uses the following accumulators:

      Accumulator	Description
      401K GROSS N	Segment accumulator that accumulates earnings that need to be considered in the 401k deduction calculation. This is a Not Maintained accumulator and is defined as As Contributinġ.
      401K GROSS YTD N	YTD accumulator that accumulates YTD earnings that need to be considered in the 401k deduction calculation. The 401K GROSS N accumulator is a member of this accumulator. This is a Not Maintained accumulator and is defined as As Contributing.
      401K PRE CTB N	Segment accumulator that accumulates the employee's 401k pre-tax contributions. The 401K EE deduction is a member of this accumulator. This is a Not Maintained accumulator and is defined as As Contributing.
      401K PRE CTB YTD N	YTD accumulator that accumulates the employee's YTD 401k pre-tax contributions. The 401K PRE CTB N accumulator is a member of this accumulator. This is a Not Maintained accumulator and is defined as As Contributing.
      415C AMT	Segment accumulator that accumulates the employee's 401k contributions that are subject to the 415c limits. The 401K PRE CTB N accumulator is a member of this accumulator. This accumulator is defined as As Contributing.
      415C AMT YTD	YTD accumulator that accumulates the employee's 401k YTD contributions that are subject to the 415c limits. The 415C AMT accumulator is a member of this accumulator. This accumulator is defined as As Contributing.

Life Insurance Processing

When processing life insurance plans, the system is designed to process:

1. An eligibility check.

2. Basic life deductions.

3. Supplemental life deductions.

4. Spousal life deductions.

Eligibility Check

To perform the eligibility check, the system:

1. Processes BEN FM BASIC ELIG.

   This is the same eligibility check performed by the health plan process.

2. If BEN FM BASIC ELIG equals one, the system will process the section LIFE INIT.

   LIFE INIT calls the array BEN AR LIFE PLANS. BEN AR LIFE PLANS uses the formula BEN FM LIFE PLANS to retrieve the employee's life insurance enrollment information for plan types 20, 21, and 25 from the Life/ADD Elections page in Human Resources.

Basic Life Deductions

To calculate life insurance deductions, the system:

1. Performs another eligibility check using the formula BEN FM BAS LIF ELG.

   If retroactive adjustments exist, and if the employee's plan type 20 election coverage is not blank, then one is assigned to the formula BEN FM BAS LIF ELG.

   If the value of BEN VR BASIC ELIG equals zero, then zero is assigned to the formula BEN FM BAS LIF ELG.

   If the employee's plan type 20 election coverage equals blank, T, or W, then zero is assigned to the formula BEN FM LIF ELIG.

   If the Primary Job field for this employee is selected, then one is assigned to the formula BEN FM BAS LIF ELG.

2. If the formula BEN FM BAS LIF ELG equals one, the system will process the section BAS LIF DED. BAS LIF DED uses:

   1. The formula BEN FM PLN TYP 20 to set plan type 20 specific search criteria.

   2. The array BEN AR BEN PRG DEF to retrieve benefit option and cost information from the Benefit Program page in Human Resources.

   3. The arrays BEN AR RATE TBL and BEN AR RATE DAT2 to retrieve benefit rate data from the BN_RATE_TBL and BN_RATE_DATA tables respectively.

   4. The array BEN AR CALC RULE to retrieve the calculation rules from the Calculation Rules page in Human Resources.

   5. The array BEN AR LIFE PARM to retrieve the group coverage code from the Life/Accidental page in Human Resources.

   6. The array BEN AR DEP COV ELG to retrieve covered person type data from the BN_DEP_COV_ELG_LIF table.

   7. The array BEN AR BN FORMULA to retrieve benefit formula data from the BN_FORMULA table.

   8. The array BEN AR BN FORM DEF to retrieve benefit formula definition data from the BN_FORM_DEF table.

   9. The array BEN AR COV GRP to retrieve the maximum coverage for the group coverage code from the Coverage Group Tbl page in Human Resources.

   10. The formula BEN FM CVGRPCD DAT to check that the employee does not exceed the maximum amount allowed for all life insurance plans.

   11. The formula BEN FM BAS COV AMT to calculate the basic life coverage amount taking into consideration the limits that may apply.

   12. The deduction BASIC LIF EE to calculate the actual basic life insurance deduction.

       BASIC LIF EE uses the formula BEN FM BAS EE COST.

Supplemental Life Deductions

To calculate supplement life deductions, the system:

1. Performs another eligibility check using the formula BEN FM SUP LIF ELG.

   If retroactive adjustments exist, and if the employee's plan type 21 election coverage is not blank, then one is assigned to the formula BEN FM SUP LIF ELG.

   If the value of BEN VR BASIC ELIG equals zero, then zero is assigned to the formula BEN FM SUP LIF ELG.

   If the employee's plan type 21 election coverage equals blank, T, or W, then zero is assigned to the formula BEN FM BAS LIF ELG.

   If the Primary Job field for this employee is selected, then one is assigned to the formula BEN FM SUP LIF ELG.

2. If the formula BEN FM BAS LIF ELG equals one, the system will process the section SUP LIFE DED. SUP LIFE DED uses:

   1. The formula BEN FM PLN TYP 21 to set plan type 21 specific search criteria.

   2. The array BEN AR BEN PRG DEF to retrieve benefit option and cost information from the Benefit Program page in Human Resources.

   3. The arrays BEN AR RATE TBL and BEN AR RATE DAT2 to retrieve benefit rate data from the BN_RATE_TBL and BN_RATE_DATA tables respectively.

   4. The array BEN AR CALC RULE to retrieve the calculation rules from the Calculation Rules page in Human Resources.

   5. The array BEN AR LIFE PARM to retrieve the group coverage code from the Life/Accidental page in Human Resources.

   6. The array BEN AR BN FORMULA to retrieve benefit formula data from the BN_FORMULA table.

   7. The array BEN AR BN FORM DEF to retrieve benefit formula definition data from the BN_FORM_DEF table.

   8. The array BEN AR COV GRP to retrieve the maximum coverage for the group coverage code from the Coverage Group Tbl page in Human Resources.

   9. The formula BEN FM CVGRPCD DAT to check that the employee does not exceed the maximum amount allowed for all life insurance plans.

   10. The formula BEN FM SUP COV AMT to calculate the supplemental life insurance coverage amount taking into consideration the limits that may apply.

   11. The deduction SUPL LIF EE to calculate the actual basic life insurance deduction.

       SUPL LIF EE uses the formula BEN FM SUP EE COST.

Spousal Life Deductions

To calculate spousal life insurance plan deductions, the system:

1. Performs another eligibility check using the formula BEN FM SPS LIF ELG.

   If retroactive adjustments exist, and if the employee's plan type 25 election coverage is not blank, then one is assigned to the formula BEN FM SPS LIF ELG.

   If the value of BEN VR BASIC ELIG equals zero, then zero is assigned to the formula BEN FM SPS LIF ELG.

   If the employee's plan type 25 election coverage equals blank, T, or W, then zero is assigned to the formula BEN FM SPS LIF ELG.

   If the Primary Job field for this employee is selected, then one is assigned to the formula BEN FM SPS LIF ELG.

2. If the formula BEN FM SPS LIF ELG equals one, the system will process the section SPOUSE LIFE DED. SPOUSE LIFE DED uses:

   1. The formula BEN FM PLN TYP 25 to set plan type 25 specific search criteria.

   2. The array BEN AR BEN PRG DEF to retrieve benefit option and cost information from the Benefit Program page in Human Resources.

   3. The array BEN AR CALC RULE to retrieve the calculation rules from the Calculation Rules page in Human Resources.

   4. The array BEN AR DEP BIRTH to retrieve the spouse's birth date from the Update Dependent/Beneficiary - Name and Personal Profile pages in Human Resources.

   5. The date GP PRD END DT EXTR to extract the current year based on the period-end-date.

   6. The formula BEN FM SPOUSE AGE to calculate the spouse's age.

   7. The formula BEN FM RT SMKR ST to determine rates based on smoker status.

   8. The array BEN AR LIFE PARM to retrieve the group coverage code from the Life/Accidental page in Human Resources.

   9. The array BEN AR BN FORMULA to retrieve benefit formula data from the BN_FORMULA table.

   10. The array BEN AR BN FORM DEF to retrieve benefit formula definition data from the BN_FORM_DEF table.

   11. The array BEN AR COV GRP to retrieve the maximum coverage for the group coverage code from the Coverage Group Tbl page in Human Resources.

   12. The formula BEN FM CVGRPCD DAT to check that the employee does not exceed the maximum amount allowed for all life insurance plans.

   13. The formula BEN FM SPS COV AMT to calculate the supplemental life insurance coverage amount taking into consideration the limits that may apply.

   14. The deduction SPSE LIF EE to calculate the actual spousal life insurance deduction.

       SPSE LIF EE uses the formula BEN FM SPS EE COST.

Delivered Benefit Deduction Elements

The following table lists the delivered benefit deduction elements:

See Also

Deductions

Accumulators

Delivered Benefit Arrays

This following table lists the delivered benefit arrays:

See Also

Understanding Array Elements

Scheduling Deductions Using Generation Control

Generation control elements enable you to define when a deduction element is processed according to defined criteria.

The following table shows the generation control elements associated with the benefit deductions:

You can override or assign a different generation control frequency to an individual payee using the Element Assignment by Payee component.

Note. PeopleSoft Global Payroll for United States delivers a query that you can run to view the names of all delivered elements designed for the U.S. Instructions for running the query are provided in thePeopleSoft Enterprise Global Payroll 9.1 PeopleBook.

See Also

Understanding How to View Delivered Elements

Defining Generation Control Elements

Creating New Benefit Deductions

This section discusses tips for creating a new benefit deduction for a:

• Delivered plan type.

• New plan type.

Delivered Plan Types

If you are adding another benefit deduction within the delivered plan types of health, life, and savings, you may need to:

• Modify the formula that retrieves the employee's benefit enrollment information so that it includes the new plan type.

  • For health plans, you will need to modify the formula BEN FM HLTH PLANS.

  • For life plans, you will need to modify the formula BEN FM LIFE PLANS.

  • For savings plans, you will need to modify the formula BEN FM SAV PLANS.

• Create a new section to process the deduction and add the new section within the particular plan type defined on the STD DED PRC NPV section.

  • For health plan, you will need to add it after DENTAL DED.

  • For life plans, you will need to add it after SPOUSE LIFE DED.

  • For savings plans, you will need to add it after 401K DED.

• Create a new eligibility check for the specific plan type.

• Create a new deduction element for the specific plan type. Answer these questions:

  • Does this deduction have both an employee and employer portion? If an employer portion exists, you will need to create a separate deduction element for it.

  • Is this a before or after-tax deduction?

  • Are limits involved?

  • Does this deduction contribute to any accumulators?

New Plan Types

If you are adding any other type of benefit deduction, you will need to consider the guidelines discussed in Delivered Plan Types. In addition to those, you need to:

• Create a new section in the STD DED PROCESS list.

• Decide whether this new deduction section goes before the federal tax section or after state taxes.

Understanding Triggers

This section discusses:

• Supported benefit triggers.

• Delivered mass triggers.

Supported Benefit Triggers

Triggers are used to detect online changes that should result in some type of action. PeopleSoft Global Payroll for United States delivers both iterative and retro triggers for benefit related data. When a trigger is generated by a change to a record, it writes the required data necessary to process the trigger to a table.

• Iterative triggers are written to GP_ITER_TRGR.

• Retro triggers are written to GP_RTO_TRGR.

  Note. Retro triggers are processed using the forwarding method.

Three applications create triggers:

• Manage Base Benefits business process in Human Resources.

• Administer Workforce business process in Human Resources.

• Benefits Administration.

Manage Base Benefits Business Process

An iterative and retro trigger is written when administration changes the following pages:

• Benefit Program Participation.

• Health Benefit Elections.

• Life/ADD Elections.

Administer Workforce Business Process

An iterative and retro trigger is written when administration changes the Benefit Program field on the Benefit Participation page.

Benefits Administration

In Benefits Administration, a trigger is written to the BAS_ACTIVITY table whenever an employee has a qualified life event. The Benefits Administration process, BAS_RUNCTL, will evaluate that event and determine whether a new benefit enrollment record should be written for that employee.

If a new benefit enrollment record is written that affects the employee's benefit program, health plan enrollment, or life enrollment, a retroactive and iterative trigger is written to the GP_RTO_TRGR and GP_ITER_TRGR tables.

See Also

Setting Up Triggers

Delivered Mass Triggers

Mass triggers enable you to generate employee payroll triggers based on changes to setup tables. Mass triggers are specified for a certain record on a certain component. A SQL object defines the population affected by the change to the setup table. When the affected employees are determined, you can review the trigger details before accepting the changes.

PeopleSoft Global Payroll for United States delivers one mass trigger event definition, BEN MT, for the following components:

• BEN_PROG_DEFN

• BN_FORMULA

• BN_RATE_TABLE

• CALC_RULES_TABLE

• COVERAGE_GROUP_TBL

• LIFE_ADD_TABLE

See Also

Setting Up Mass Triggers

Reviewing Benefit Deductions

This section discusses how to review benefit enrollments and deduction amounts.

See Also

Global Payroll Reports: A to Z

Pages Used to Review Benefit Deductions

Reviewing Benefit Enrollments and Deduction Amounts

Access the Benefits Summary USA page (Benefits, Review Employee Benefits, Benefits Summary USA, Benefits Summary USA).

Complete the From Date and To Date fields, and then click the Create Benefit Summary button. The results will appear.