Planning the Lookup Data

When you set up instructions for looking up data on a table, you specify an interpolation method for handling values that are not on the table. When you deal with intermediate values, the instructions depend on how you set up the data.

Suppose you look up social security retirement age based on an employee's date of birth. The following example shows a table you could use to determine SSRA when adjusting 415 limits, but not for social security calculations:

Birth Date	415 SSRA
1937 and earlier	65
1938 to 1954	66
1955 and later	67

Note:

For simplicity's sake, this example uses a table without the two-month increments in the SSRA.

When you enter data in the table, you can only have one birth date per row. You cannot use a range such as "1937 and earlier." However, you do not want to enter every possible birth date in the range.

Assume that your interpolation method tells the system to use the next lower value on the table for intermediate birth dates. You can also have the system use the smallest and largest values on the table as the minimum and maximum. Based on these options, you would set up the table as follows:

Birth Date	415 SSRA
December 31, 1937	65
January 1, 1938	66
January 1, 1955	67

When you use the lower value, birth dates between January 1, 1938 and December 31, 1954 use the value for January 1, 1938.

If your interpolation method specifies that the system should use the next higher value for intermediate birth dates, your table would be as follows:

Birth Date	415 SSRA
December 31, 1937	65
December 31, 1954	66
December 31, 1955	67

When you use the higher value, birth dates between January 1, 1938 and December 31, 1954 use the value for December 31, 1954.