Setting Up Benefit Plans

This chapter provides an overview of benefit plans and explains how to:

• Define benefit plans.

• Set up health plans.

• Set up life insurance and accidental death plans.

• Set up disability plans.

• Set up savings plans.

• Set up leave plans.

• Set up FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) plans.

• Set up FSA (flexible spending account) plans.

• Set up retirement plans.

• Set up pension plans.

• Set up vacation buy/sell plans.

Understanding Benefit Plans

Benefit plans are the benefits you want to offer to your employees. Benefit plans can be broken down into categories. To identify the different categories, PeopleSoft uses a two digit alphanumeric numbering scheme. There are nine categories already set up in the Base Benefits system.

Within each category, PeopleSoft offers a set of predefined benefit plan types to help the system identify the type of benefit plan. The following table is a list of the delivered benefit plan types.

You can add additional benefit plan types. However, it is important to understand the numbering scheme behind benefit plan types. The system is designed to recognize specific sequences.

For example, anything with a 1 as the first character is recognized as a health plan. Anything with a 2 as the first character is recognized as a life and accidental death plan.

Because PeopleSoft adds plan types starting from the beginning of the alphabet, we recommend that you start with Z and work backward to A. We also recommend that you do not delete a plan type, simply make it inactive.

Note. You should work within the PeopleSoft plan type series. If you add plan types that do not conform to the provided series, you’ll have to add the new plan type to the Translate Table and update associated processing logic.

Defining Benefit Plans

To set up a benefit plan:

1. Identify the benefit provider for the benefit plan and enter the benefit provider in the Provider/Vendor Table page.

2. Enter the detail information for the benefit plan on the Benefit Plan Table page.

3. Repeat this process for each benefit plan you will offer to your employees.

Page Used to Define Benefit Plans

Entering Benefit Plan Information

Access the Benefit Plan Table page.

SetID	Select a set ID for the vendor to be used.
Vendor ID	Enter the provider ID. Define Vendor IDs on the Provider/Vendor Table page.
Group Number	Enter the group number. Group numbers are defined on the Provider Policy Table page.
SPD URL ID (summary plan description uniform resource locator identification)	Enter the URL ID for the provider. This URL is used with the PeopleSoft Enterprise eBenefits application to provide access to the summary plan description.
Default Deduction Code	(Optional.) Entering a default code saves you from typing the deduction code each time that you associate this benefit plan with a benefit program on the Benefit/Deduction Program Table. Deduction codes are created on the Deduction Code Table.
Minimum Spousal Allocation % (minimum spousal allocation percentage)	Certain qualified plans in the life, savings, or pension category have mandated lower limits on the percentage amount that must be assigned to a spouse. Enter that amount here and the system enforces or monitors compliance with this beneficiary right.
Include in Nondiscrimination Testing	Available only to plan types in the 40-series (savings plans).
Pay Mode	Complete if you are using PeopleSoft Enterprise Payroll for North America with PeopleSoft Enterprise Payables. Select when the vendor will be paid: Pay as Deducted: Pay the vendor each time payroll calculates this deduction. Pay at Specified Date: Specify the date in the AP Payment Date Type field. Pay when Collection Complete: Pay the vendor only when the goal amount or deduction end date has been reached. (This pay mode is valid for general deductions and garnishments.)
AP Payment Date Type(accounts payable payment date type)	Choose from Check Date or Pay Period End Date.
Self-Service Plan Description	Used only for health (1x), disability (3x), leave (5x), and retirement (7x) plans. Enter text describing the benefit plan, to appear on PeopleSoft Enterprise eBenefits application pages.
Contact Type	Select the type of contact: COBRA Administrator (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act), HIPAA Administrator (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), or Plan Administrator.
Contact ID	Select the contact ID for the administrator. Contact IDs are defined on the Benef Administrative Contact (benefits administrative contact) page.

See Also

Setting Up Internal Administrative Contact Information

Setting Up Health Plans

This section describes how to:

• Enter health plan details.

• Set up health plans for domestic partners.

Page Used to Set Up Health Plans

Entering Health Plan Details

Access the Health Plan Table page.

Health Provider Required

Select whether an employee must declare a health provider when enrolling in this plan through self-service.

Setting Up Health Plans for Domestic Partners

If you offer health coverage for domestic partners, their children, and other dependents defined as nonqualified by IRS Section 152, you'll need to set up separate health plans and identify them as nonqualified health plans. Nonqualified plans can be identical as far as the benefits they offer and the provider they're linked with, although their deductions and costs will probably be different.

PeopleSoft delivers the following three nonqualified dependent plans:

To cover nonqualified dependents, employees need to be enrolled in a regular health plan for themselves and any qualified dependents and in a corresponding nonqualified health plan for nonqualified dependents. So if an employee wants to enroll a domestic partner in health insurance, he or she needs to be enrolled in a plan type 10 medical plan for individual coverage and plan type 15 medical plan for the domestic partner.

There are also tax consequences for nonqualified dependent health benefits, as all employer-paid benefits for nonqualified dependent health plans are considered taxable income for the employee by the IRS under IRS Section 152.

Setting Up Life Insurance and Accidental Death Plans

This section describes how to:

• Enter life insurance and AD/D plan details.

• (USF) Understand Option A - standard FEGLI plan calculations.

Page Used to Set Up Life Insurance and AD/D Plans

Entering Life Insurance and AD/D Plan Details

Access the Life/Accidental page.

Coverage

Select the appropriate coverage. Flat Amount Only: Calculates coverage according to a flat amount. The amount can be negative. Note. (USF) Option A - Standard and Option C - Family FEGLI plans include a flat amount of $10,000 and $5,000, respectively. Factor x Benefits Base + Flat Amount: Calculates coverage based on an employee benefits base and a factor, or a factored base and an amount. The amount can be negative. Note. FEGLI basic life plans use a factor plus an amount. Specified in Employee Record: Uses the amount of coverage that you specify when you enroll an employee. Note. FEGLI living benefits plans use this level of coverage. Special Calculation Routine: Uses a custom routine not supported by the standard system. You need to modify your SQR and COBOL programs accordingly. Sum of Dependent Coverage: Uses the sum of the dependent coverage amounts that you enter when you enroll an employee. Many dependent life plans use this type of coverage.

Coverage Group Code

(Optional.) Enables you to define a maximum benefit amount for a group of life and AD/D plan types. Coverage group codes are defined on the Coverage Group Tbl page. You might do this if employees can choose more than one life plan type—perhaps life and AD/D—but the total benefit for the combined plans cannot exceed a specific amount. The coverage group code maximum applies to all the life and AD/D benefit plans that you associate with a coverage group code and one benefit program.

Setting Up Life Plans for Domestic Partners

Dependent life plans can be used to cover domestic partners, their children, and other dependents classified as nonqualified by IRS Section 152. No special plan types are required for nonqualified dependents.

The imputed income rules for domestic partners are different from those for qualified dependents. Imputed income is calculated for the full value of nonqualified dependent life coverage, whether or not it exceeds 2000 USD. (Qualified dependent coverage is exempt from imputed income calculation if it is under that amount.)

Calculating Insurance Coverage

When you associate calculation rules that include coverage minimum and maximum amounts with a life benefit program and benefit plan combination, the system verifies that coverage for participants doesn’t exceed those minimums and maximums, regardless of the coverage that you enter on the Life and AD/D Plan table.

For example, you define a coverage group code with a 500,000 USD maximum, then enter that coverage group code for a supplemental life plan and a group life plan, and associate both benefit plans with a benefit program. If you enrolled an employee in both of these plans, the system would ensure that the employee's total coverage by both plans does not exceed 500,000 USD.

If the maximum is exceeded, the system reduces the total coverage to meet the coverage maximum. As the system processes deductions, it accumulates the coverage amounts and begins reducing coverage when the coverage group maximum is reached. The system processes plans in order of deduction priority. If more than one plan has the same priority, it processes in increasing plan type order.

(USF) Understanding Option A - Standard FEGLI Plan Calculations

PeopleSoft Enterprise Payroll for North America calculates coverage and premiums for the Option A - Standard FEGLI optional life plan in accordance with federal regulations. The Option A - Standard plan provides at least 10,000 USD in additional coverage, depending upon the employee's rate of pay.

When an employee's annual rate of pay is more than the sum of the annual rate of basic pay for Level II Executive Schedule positions under 5 U.S.C. 5313, plus 10,000 USD, Option A coverage automatically increases. The amount then becomes the difference between the employee's annual rate of pay and the maximum allowable Basic Insurance Amount (BIA). Calculations are included in the Calculation Rules Table for calculation rule ID OPTA.

The maximum allowable BIA appears in the Maximum Benefits Base field on the Calculation Rules Table page. Payroll for North America uses this information to calculate coverage and premium amounts.

Setting Up Disability Plans

Insurance companies typically quote disability benefits on monthly terms (as opposed to life insurance benefits, which are quoted in annual terms).

Page Used to Set Up Disability Plans

Entering Disability Plan Details

Access the Disability Plan page.

Salary Replacement % (salary replacement percentage)	Enter the percent of employee salary this plan will replace, limited to the maximum monthly benefit.
(CAN) Use as Base for Premium Calc (use as base for premium calculation)	This check box is for Canadian employers who can use employee covered salaries to calculate disability plan premiums. When selected, disability plan premium calculations are based on the employee’s disability benefit salary replacement percentage, rather than the employee's covered salary. This amount is still limited to the specified maximum monthly benefit.

Calculation of Disability Plan Deductions

Disability plan deductions are calculated as follows:

Annualized Premium = (Calculated Base ÷ Unit) × (Calculation Rate) × (Premium Frequency)

Disability Deduction = (Annualized Premium) ÷ (Payroll Frequency)

The disability calculated base value is displayed on the Paycheck Deduction page.

Suppose that the rate specified on the Rate Schedule Table has a premium frequency of biweekly, and a .5 rate per hundred. For an employee with a disability calculated base of 1000 USD, the premium is annualized as follows:

(1,000 ÷ 100) × .5 × 26 = 130 USD

An employee paid semimonthly would have a deduction of 130 ÷ 24 = 5.42 USD.

For an employee with a calculated base of 15,000 USD, and who is a salaried employee paid monthly, the deduction is calculated as follows:

[(15,000 ÷ 100) × .5 × 26] ÷ 12 = 162.50 USD

Setting Up Savings Plans

This section describes how to:

• Define employee investment limits.

• Define employer match or other contributions.

• Set up employee rollover options.

Pages Used to Set Up Savings Plans

Defining Employee Investment Limits

Access the Employee Limit on Investments page.

Use Special Accumulator	Enter a special accumulator to identify eligible earnings for calculating employee deductions. Special accumulators are set up using the Special Accumulator Table.
Plan Contribution	Select who will be a contributor to this savings plan: EE Contribution Optional (employee contribution optional): You might use this for plans that feature an employer nonmatching contribution, with voluntary additional employee contributions. This might also be used for a zero-contribution enrollment plan allowing for rollover funds. EE Contribution Required (employee contribution required): This option enables employer matching. Employer Only (NO EE) (employer only [no employee]): This could be used to establish an employer-funded savings benefit.
Total Investment (Up to Threshold), Before-Tax (Up to Threshold), and After-Tax (Up to Threshold)	Enter the before-tax, after-tax, and total percentage of earnings that an employee can invest, as long as the employee year-to-date (YTD) earnings threshold has not been met.
Employee YTD Earnings Threshold	This amount is used to determine when the over-threshold limit applies. If left at zero, the up-to-threshold limits apply to all levels of earnings.
Total Investment (Over Threshold), Before-Tax (Over Threshold), and After-Tax (Over Threshold)	Enter the before-tax, after-tax, and total percentage amounts that an employee can invest after the YTD earnings threshold has been met.
Rules for Highly Compensated Employees Investments	In response to marginal or failed 401(k) and 401(m) nondiscrimination testing, you may need to reduce investments by highly compensated employees (HCEs) in order to comply with regulations. For example, you could set a lower 8% before-tax contribution cap on HCEs or set up a 2% reduction on each HCE’s elected contribution to bring deferrals into compliance. Depending on the results of the nondiscrimination testing, you can adjust the limits throughout the year.
Investment Option	Enter a numerical identifier for each investment option. Note. U.S. federal government users enter an alphabetical identifier.

Defining Employer Match or Other Contributions

Access the Employer Contribution/Match page.

Service Step Table ID	Use to link the rate of employer matching contributions to an employee’s length of service. If you enter a service step table ID, the system automatically selects Service Step Table in the Before-Tax Matching or Contribution and After-Tax Matching or Contribution group boxes.
Flat Amount Per Pay Period	Applies to nonmatching contributions. Select and enter the dollar amount the employer will contribute per pay period regardless of the amount an employee contributes.
Percent of Employee Investment	Applies to matching contributions. Select and enter a percentage of an employee contribution in the Under Threshold field.
Percent of Special Accumulator	Applies to nonmatching contributions. Select and enter a percentage of an employer contribution in the Under Threshold and Over Threshold fields. The Over Threshold field is optional; if left blank, the system uses the employee YTD earnings threshold from the Employee Limit on Investments page.
Special Calculation Routine	Uses a custom routine not supported by the standard PeopleSoft system. You must modify your COBOL programs.

Employer Investment Limits

You can define the maximum amount the employer contributes to a savings plan, either on a matching or nonmatching basis.

When defining a plan that has an employer match, this defines the maximum amount of employee funds eligible for matching, rather than defining the amount of the employer match itself.

For example, your organization might match 50% of an employee’s contributions, but only on a before-tax basis, up to 6% of earnings or 1,000 USD per pay period, whichever is less. You would enter 6% in the Before-Tax field and 1000 in the Maximum Total Employee Contributions eligible for matching per Pay Period field.

When defining a nonmatching contribution plan, this defines the actual amount an employer contributes.

For example, your organization might fund savings plans with before-tax dollars at 3% of the employee’s earnings, up to 500 USD per pay period. You would enter 3% in the Before-Tax field and 500 in the Maximum Total Employee Contributions eligible for matching per Pay Period field.

Note. Do not combine matching and nonmatching funds in the same plan.

The combination of percentage amounts for before-tax matching and after-tax matching cannot be greater than the total employee contributions.

Setting Up Employee Rollover Options

Access the Rollover of Funds page.

Note. Employer-only plans cannot receive rollovers from another plan, because rollovers are a form of employee contribution.

Setting Up Leave Plans

This section describes how to:

• Enter leave plan details.

• (USF) Set up automatic accrual processing for federal employees.

Before you begin, make sure you have created earnings codes for the leave plans.

Note. The payroll tables summarized in this section are from Payroll for North America. If your organization does not implement Payroll for North America, work with your payroll department to ensure that the system has access to the proper data for leave accrual processing.

See Also

Setting Up Calculation Rules

Page Used to Set Up Leave Plans

Entering Leave Plan Details

Access the Leave Plan Table page.

Balance Visible to EE for Self-Service (balance visible to employee for self-service)	Select to allow employees to view their leave balances on the self-service transaction View Paycheck.
Accrual Process Date	Automatically displays the date on which the leave accrual calculation process was last run.
Service Units	Select a unit by which length of service is calculated. If you select Months, the system uses the service date on the employee employment record as the basis for accrued service. If you select Hours, the system uses the actual hours from the appropriate earnings code maintained by PeopleSoft Enterprise Payroll for North America. Years is available to U.S. Federal customers only.
Accrual Rate Units	The unit by which the accrual rate is quoted. Accrual awards are always measured in hours. Hours Per Hour: Leave hours accrued on an hourly basis. Hours Per Month: Leave hours accrued on a monthly basis. Hours Per Pay Period: Leave hours accrued on a pay period basis. For US Federal users only. Defines the hours an employee will accrue per pay period. Hours Per Week: Leave hours accrued on a weekly basis. Hours Per Year: Leave hours accrued on a per year basis.
Award Frequency	Displays how often the leave accrual award is given to employees. Determined by the accrual rate unit. If the accrual rate unit is Hours per Hour, then the award frequency is Every Run. If the accrual rate unit is Hours per Month, then the award frequency is First Run of Month. If the accrual rate unit is Hours per Year, then the award frequency is First Run of Year.
Automatic Accrual Processing	Defines how leave hours are calculated. Special Calculation Routine means your company has a custom calculation method. Service Calc at Year Begin (service calculation at year begin) calculates leave hours according to length of service as of January 1 of the current year. Max Leave Balance (maximum leave balance) defines the maximum leave hours an employee can accrue. If there is no maximum, enter 9999. Max Leave Carryover (maximum leave carryover) defines the maximum number of hours an employee can carry from one calendar year to the next. If there is no maximum, enter 9999.
Manual Accrual Processing	The values that you enter here are for reference only; they do not affect leave accrual processing in any way.
First Year Award Values	For leave plans with annual accruals, use to define a leave plan in which, during the first year of service, leave hours are prorated based on the month employment begins. Only available when the leave plan’s accrual rate unit is Hours Per Year. Although the award frequency for annual accrual leave plans is First Run of Year, you will actually run the Leave Accrual process each month to process the first year award values exclusively. After the first year, employees receive awards only on the first run of the year, as planned.
Accrual Rate Values	Defines how your employees accrue leave time. Directly tied to what you selected in the Service Units field.
Service Bonus Values	Defines how employees accrue bonus hours (in addition to regular leave accruals).

Setting Up FMLA Plans

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protects health benefits and job restoration for U.S. employees who must take a leave from work to care for themselves or family members. The FMLA contains provisions regarding employer coverage, employee eligibility and entitlement, notice and certification, continuation of health benefits, and job restoration.

Because an FMLA plan is an entitlement type of leave plan, it is managed separately from your other enrolled leave plans. This section describes how to:

• Activate FMLA administration.

• Enter FMLA plan details.

See Also

Managing FMLA Plans

Page Used to Set Up FMLA Plans

Activating FMLA Administration

This section explains how you activate FMLA administration.

To activate FMLA Administration:

1. Access the Product Specific page on the Installation Table.

2. Select FMLA Administration in the Benefits Functions group box.

   This enables you to gain access to pages and fields for setting up and administering FMLA plan balances.

See Also

Entering Application- and Industry-Specific Installation Information

Entering FMLA Plan Details

Access the FMLA Plan Table page.

Calendar Type	Employees eligible for FMLA protected leave are entitled to at least 12 weeks of leave during each 12 month “FMLA year.” There are three different ways to define the FMLA year: Fixed Calendar: Defines a 12 month period with a specific starting date (defined with the Begin Month and Begin Day fields). It can be the calendar year, fiscal year, or a 12 month period that is defined by state law. Employees with Fixed Calendar FMLA leave plans are entitled to the defined annual entitlement, less any FMLA protected leave taken in the current fixed calendar year. The eligibility weeks for an FMLA request that is made using a fixed calendar year are reduced according to the date the request is made. Roll-Forward: Begins the FMLA year when employees take an FMLA protected leave and ends 12 months later. Employees’ next FMLA year begins with the first FMLA protected leave they take after the first 12 month FMLA year has passed. Roll-Backward: Counts the FMLA year backwards for 12 months from the time that employees take FMLA protected leave. If employees have taken FMLA leave in the year previous to their scheduled FMLA leave start date, that amount of leave is subtracted from their annual entitlement for the upcoming FMLA protected leave request.
Annual Entitlement	Defines the number of weeks of FMLA protected leave that employees are entitled to every FMLA year. You can define an entitlement of more than the government-mandated 12 weeks, but not less.
Minimum Service Weeks Required and Minimum Earned Hours Required	Use to define the length of service requirements that must be met before an employee is eligible for FMLA coverage. According to the standards set by the FMLA, the values for these fields cannot be greater than 52 weeks (12 months) and 1,250 hours, respectively. Working any portion of a week counts as a full week of employment, which enables part-time and seasonal employees to meet this requirement. The weeks of employment are also not required to be consecutive, which means that employees rehired after a gap in employment may still meet this requirement. The Earned Hours Required field enables the definition of a specific number of hours (up to 1,250) that an employee must have worked for the company during the previous 52 weeks in order to qualify for FMLA coverage.
Use Standard or Payroll Hours	If you use Payroll for North America, define how earned hours required and entitlement hours are calculated. Std Hrs (standard hours): Calculates the earned hours using standard hours per work week. The system determines standard hours per work week from the employee Job record effective as of the leave begin date. Pay Hrs (payroll hours): Calculates the standard hours using the actual hours worked per week during the 52 weeks prior to the request begin date. Provides more accuracy for employees who work an irregular schedule. If payroll hours are used, you must establish an FMLA hours special accumulator to track FMLA hours. Special accumulators and their codes are defined through the Special Accumulator Table. Note. If you do not use Payroll for North America, the Pay Hrs option is not allowed.

See Also

Setting Up Special Accumulators

Setting Up FSA Plans

Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) are before-tax employee savings plans that can be used for certain approved expenses, such as health care or dependent care. The following plan types are predefined for FSAs:

• Plan type 60 - FSA health care for U.S. companies.

• Plan type 61 - FSA dependent care U.S. companies.

• Plan type 65 - FSA health care for Canadian companies.

• Plan type 66 - Canadian retirement counseling accounts.

Page Used to Set Up FSA Plans

Entering FSA Plan Details

Access the FSA Benefit Plan page.

Balance ID	The system uses the pay period end date or check date and the schedule of balance periods associated with this balance ID to calculate FSA deductions.
Contribution Frequency	Select a frequency to define how you quote amounts for this FSA benefit plan. If, when entering an employee’s FSA election, an employee contribution percentage is specified in addition to an annual pledge, it is specified in terms of this contribution frequency.
Employer Contribution	Define an employer matching contribution: None: No employer match is contributed. Flat Amount: Matches the employee contribution with a flat amount that you enter, up to a chosen percent limit. Percent of Employee Contribution: Matches a percent of the employee contribution that you enter, up to a limit that you define. Special Calculation Routine: Uses a custom routine not supported by the standard PeopleSoft system.
(CAN) Employer Carryforward Choice	Carry forward credit or claim amounts from one plan year to the next.
(CAN) Future Borrowing	Select to allow plan enrollees to spend FSA credits prior to their inclusion within the plan year.

Setting Up Retirement Plans

You can set up retirement plans for PERS (the California Public Employees Retirement System) or the U.S. federal government.

Page Used to Set Up Retirement Plans

Entering Retirement Plan Details

Access the Retirement Plan page.

Employer Contribution to Employee % (employer contribution to employee percentage)	Define how much the employer contributes to the employee’s total contribution percentage.
Use Special Accumulator Instead of Gross	To have the system use a special accumulator instead of the total gross, enter the desired accumulator code here. To use a special accumulator, work with your Payroll department to define the code and its detail. You can set up special accumulators—as many as you need—to process savings, retirement, and pension plans.

(USF) Federal Retirement Plans

Federal employees who are enrolled in FERS retirement plans are automatically enrolled in a TSP 1% Agency Contribution plan as well. In this plan, the employee's agency contributes 1% of the employee's basic pay for each pay period to the employee's TSP account. The TSP 1% Agency Contribution plan is predefined; its benefits do not take the place of those offered by other retirement plans. Employees enrolled in the TSP 1% Agency Contribution plan receive these contributions whether or not they contribute their own money to their TSP accounts.

Select OASDI Offset and Subject to OASDI for retirement plans that have employee contributions offset by employee contributions to OASDI. The system reduces employee retirement plan contributions by the OASDI contribution amount until the maximum OASDI/FICA contribution level is reached.

See Also

Setting Up Special Accumulators

Enrolling Employees in the TSP Agency Automatic Contribution Plan

Setting Up Pension Plans

Pension plans are also managed by PeopleSoft Enterprise Pension Administration. However, the pension plan must be set up in the Base Benefits business process.

See Also

PeopleSoft Enterprise Pension Administration 8.9 PeopleBook

Page Used to Set Up Pension Plans

(USA) Entering Pension Plan Details

Access the Pension Plan Table page.

Allow Contingent Beneficiaries	Select if the plan allows nonspouse beneficiaries.
Plan Yr Begins (Month/Day) (plan year begins [month/day]) and Plan Yr Ends (Month/Day) (plan year ends [month/day])	Specify the month and day when your plan year begins. A plan year normally ends the day before the next one begins. However, if you change your plan year, the row for the resulting short plan year will have nonconsecutive begin and end dates. Be sure to include a row for a short plan year. Failure to do this can cause calculation errors. A short plan refers to the period of transition when a change occurs in the plan year. For example, let's say a plan has a fiscal year starting from July 1 to June 31. Due to a business decision, the plan year changes to January 1 to December 31, beginning on January 1, 2004. The short plan year would be from July 1, 2003 to December 31, 2004.
Contributory Plans	You can only incorporate U.S. pension plans (plan types 82 to 87) into a manual or automated benefit program if the plan is defined as a contributory plan in which the employee contributes some portion of earnings to the plan. Note. The system makes no determination as to whether the rules that you set up meet Internal Revenue Code qualification standards. Such compliance is your responsibility.
Voluntary Contributions Allowed	There are no parameters for defining voluntary contribution rates; these are established on an employee-by-employee basis when you enroll employees in the plan.
Special Accumulator Code	Enter the code that tracks pensionable earnings.
Rates of Deduction	Enter contribution rates. You can have different rates above and below a threshold. For example, employees can contribute 2% of earnings up to 50,000 USD and 3% of earnings above that. Enter the rate up to the threshold in the first Rates of Deduction field, the threshold in the next field, and the rate beyond the threshold in the final field. If the threshold changes—for example, if you use the Taxable Wage Base (TWB) as the threshold—insert additional effective-dated rows to record the changes.

(CAN) Entering Pension Plan Details

Access the Pension Plan Table 1 page.

Use Special Accumulator Instead of Gross	Enter the special accumulator code you want the system to use in pension calculations. The system normally performs pension plan calculations based on employee total gross. If you use a special accumulator, work with your Payroll department to define the code and details. You can define several special accumulators—as many as you need—to process savings, retirement, and pension plans.
Based on YTD(based on year-to-date)	Select if you identified a special accumulator in the Use Special Accumulator Instead of Gross field. The system will add the current period special accumulator earnings to the special accumulator year-to-date balance. If you do not select the check box, the system will take the current pay period special accumulator earnings and annualize them based on the number of pay periods in the year.
Pension Plan Type	Select the type of pension plan. Valid values are Def Benfit (defined benefit), MoneyPurch (money purchase), Non Qual (nonqualified), and Qualified. Defined benefit calculates the pension credit and does not maintain a pension adjustment balance for the employee. Defined benefit pension credits must be calculated based on the retirement benefits accrued by each employee, according to the provisions of the plan and the plan year. The system doesn't have the information to perform this calculation. Money purchase calculates the pension credit for the current period as the total of all employee and employer contributions to the plan. The system posts the total of all pension credits for the period (an employee can be enrolled in more than one pension plan at the same time) to the Pension Adjustment Year-To-Date balance for the employee. If your pension plan has been defined as a money-purchase type, the Pension Adjustment (PA) amount is automatically calculated and maintained by the pay confirmation process and represents a combination of the employee and employer contributions.
Voluntary Contributns Allowed (voluntary contributions allowed)	Select to allow employees that you enroll in the plan to make voluntary contributions above the amount that you define for the plan.
Coordinate with CCP (coordinate with Canadian Pension Plan)	Select to indicate you want the system to reduce the calculated contribution amount for both the employee and the employer by the amount contributed to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) for the current pay period. Warning! When you define the pension contribution as a before-tax deduction, the system calculates the amount to deduct before it performs the normal tax calculation. When you select Coordinate with CPP, the system performs a special CPP/QPP calculation prior to calculation of the pension contribution. To ensure that CPP/QPP is correctly calculated, you or your payroll department must define the pension benefit deduction priority as lower (a higher number) than all taxable benefits.
Plan Registration #(plan registration number)	Enter the registration number for the pension plan. The system uses the plan registration number for reporting on the T4 tax form at the end of the year.
Contribution Percent	Use this group box to define the employer and employee contribution percentages. The Rate Type that you select determines the information you will need to provide.
Rate Type	Select a Rate Type. Valid values are Fixed Rate, None, and Slide Rate. If you select Fixed Rate, the Pension Rate Table becomes available and you must enter the rates that will be used to process the employee and employer contributions. This is based on YTD earnings and should not be selected even if a special accumulator is used. If more than one set of rates apply, it is recommended that you use Slide Rate. If you choose None, use the fields to the right to define the rates. If you select Slide Rate, the Pension Rate Table becomes available and you must enter the rates that will be used to process the employee and employer contributions. To avoid setup problems, define your rates in both Contribution Up to YMPE and Contribution Over YMPE for each Earnings Limit and ensure that a "ceiling" Earnings Limit is entered that cannot be exceeded by annualizing an employee's pay. Otherwise, an error message will be reported during the pay calculation run.
Contribution & Up to YMPE (contribution and up to yearly maximum pensionable earnings), Contribution & Over YMPE (contribution and over yearly maximum pensionable earnings), Employer % (employer percent), and Employee % (employee percent)	To define rates that are not based on a table, select None in the Rate Type field and use Contribution & Up to YMPE Employee % and Employer %, and Contribution & Over YMPE Employee % and Employer %. YMPE is an amount set by the government upon which CPP/QPP contributions are made. It is a ceiling, and excess earnings on this ceiling are not subject to CPP/QPP contributions.
Annual Rate	To define fixed or sliding rates, select either Fixed Rate or Sliding Rate in the Rate Type field. For example, you may enter three sets of rates. And you may enter limits of $20,000, $60,000, and $80,000, respectively, for the rates. When the system processes an employee pension contribution for pensions defined using fixed rates, it looks for the set of rates with the lowest associated Earnings Limit that is greater than employee annual earnings. If employee annual earnings exceed the highest Earnings Limit amount, the system uses the rates associated with the highest amount. When the system processes an employee pension contribution for pensions with sliding rates, it splits the earnings between different rate levels up to employee annual earnings. An example for fixed rates: n employee with annual earnings of $50,000 uses rates associated with the $20,000 Earnings Limit for the first $20,000, and uses rates associated with the $60,000 Earnings Limit for the remaining $30,000. An example for sliding rates: an employee with annual earnings of $50,000 uses the rates associated with the $60,000 Earnings Limit. If the annual earnings for another employee are $90,000, the system would use the rates associated with the $80,000 Earnings Limit.
Defined Benefit PA Factors	If you want to use the SQR program TAX104CN as a template Pension Adjustment Calculation Routine, complete the Defined Benefit PA Factors group box. TAX104CN calculates and loads the appropriate balance records. To complete the group box, contact your pension administrator or an appropriate governing office. The only optional field in this group box is PA Annual Base Hours. If this field is blank, the system will apply the employee's Standard Work Hours from Job Data - Job Information to perform the calculation. If your pension plan has been defined as a money purchase type, the Pension Adjustment (PA) amount is automatically calculated and maintained by the pay confirmation process and represents a combination of the employee and employer contributions. If you have Pension Plans set up as defined benefit plans, you'll leave the Pension Adjustment amounts in the Defined Benefit PA Factors group box blank. Typically, you will generate the Pension Adjustment amounts using an external service provider, or perhaps an internal process, outside of the PeopleSoft application. Once the information is calculated, you must import it into PeopleSoft.

Setting Up Vacation Buy/Sell Plans

With a vacation buy plan, employees can use earnings to gain more vacation days. With vacation sell, they contribute vacation hours for cash.

Page Used to Set Up Vacation Buy/Sell Plans

Entering Vacation Buy/Sell Plan Details

Access the Vacation Buy/Sell page.

Vacation Buy or Sell	Select either Vacn Buy (vacation buy) or Vacn Sell (vacation sell), depending on the plan type. Vacation Buy is predefined plan type 90; Vacation Sell is plan type 91.
Accruals Earnings Type	Select the earning type to use for this plan. Accruals Earning Types are defined on the Earnings Table for Payroll for North America. When employees buy vacation, accrual balances increase. When employees sell vacation, accruals decrease.
Amount Frequency	Select the rate at which the system will store and calculate the value of vacation hours an employee buys or sells. This field is independent of pay period. When an employee buys or sells vacation, two kinds of data are affected: leave accruals and pay. The first time you process leave accruals after an employee buys or sells vacation hours, you see current leave accrual balances, based on the total vacation hours bought or sold. However, for employee pay, Payroll for North America spreads the vacation buy or sell amount over the remainder of the calendar year. This is done with the help of the amount frequency and accruals earnings type that you define.
Vacation Hours and Vacation Amount	When an employee buys or sells vacation, the system verifies that the amount is at least the minimum, not more than the maximum, and in the increment that you define. The system also verifies that the value of the hours bought or sold does not exceed the percent of salary or the maximum amount.

See Also

Managing Leave Plans

Managing Vacation Buy/Sell Plans