Setting Up Multiple Formulas in a Single Function Result

If you use different formulas for different retirement benefits (normal retirement, early retirement, disability retirement, or others), you can still incorporate all these formulas into a single benefit formula function result. You create groups based on benefit eligibility and associate each group with the appropriate formula. Every employee thus automatically uses the right formula.

Group Criteria	Definition
Benefit eligibility = normal retirement	Regular plan benefit
Benefit eligibility = early retirement	Reduced benefit

You can similarly use grouping to distinguish between retirement benefits and ancillary benefits for death and disability.

Group Criteria	Definition
Event reason = termination	Regular plan benefit
Event reason = death or disability	Regular plan benefit with 100 percent vesting

Grouping also enables you to use different formulas for employees and for QDRO alternate payees. This is important because an employee's formula is based on various calculated elements, such as service and final average earnings, whereas a QDRO alternate payee's benefit is simply stored in the database. Although you do not need a benefit formula to give you that stored value, you need a benefit formula to multiply that value by an early retirement factor and to feed that amount into the payment process.

Group Criteria	Definition (Early Retirement Benefit)
Employees with no QDRO offset	Regular plan benefit x early retirement factor
Employees with a QDRO offset	(Regular plan benefit minus offset) x early retirement factor
QDRO alternate payees	Stored QDRO amount x early retirement factor