Understanding Database Aliases

Much of the information used by the pension calculation is in your PeopleSoft Human Resources database. To reference information, you need to identify the database table and field where it is stored.

The database alias utility enables you to assign a name to a field. You can then use this user-assigned name, or alias, whenever you want to reference the information in the field.

You can set up database aliases to fields in an employee's personal data record, job data record, or any other record that is appropriately keyed. A database alias must be keyed by one or more of these fields: employee ID, effective date, and plan. When a field is keyed by plan, the system recalculates the field value as you calculate each plan.

PeopleSoft delivers a number of predefined aliases for fields that most customers need to reference. PeopleSoft also delivers a number of special database aliases to reference data not normally available but often used by pension plans. For example, there are several aliases to reference calculation-specific information, such as the event date and the benefit commencement date. There are also some calculated database aliases, such as social security retirement age (SSRA), which varies based on employee birth date.