Managing Service Purchases

Service Purchase Type

Displays the service purchase type for the leave period in the employee’s action/reason history.

Begin Date and End Date

Displays the beginning and ending date of the leave period as established by the employee’s action/reason history.

Eligibility Status

Initially, the Eligibility Status is Undetermined. When you click the Determine Eligibility button, the system changes this value to either Eligible or Ineligible.

If the Eligibility Override Allowed check box is selected on the Service Purchase Configuration - Eligibility page, this field is editable. Otherwise, it is read-only.

Create Estimate

If a leave period is determined to be eligible for service purchase, the Create Estimate button becomes active. Clicking this button creates a new service purchase record and transfers you to the Purchase Service page, where you can calculate costs and benefits and create and manage service purchase estimates.

Service Purchase Type

Displays Withdrawn Contributions, which is the delivered service purchase type for contribution withdrawals.

Withdrawal Date

Displays the date that the employee withdrew contributions.

Withdrawal Amount

Displays the amount of money withdrawn.

Eligibility Status

Initially, the Eligibility Status is Undetermined. When you click the Determine Eligibility button, the system changes this value to either Eligible or Ineligible.

If the Eligibility Override Allowed check box is selected on the Service Purchase Configuration - Eligibility page, this field is editable. Otherwise, it is read-only.

Create Estimate

If a withdrawal of contributions is determined to be eligible for service purchase, the Create Estimate button becomes active. Clicking this button creates a new service purchase record and transfers you to the Service Purchase page, where you can calculate costs and benefits and create and manage service purchase estimates.

Service Purchase Type

Enter the purchase service type for the leave period. You can select service purchase types that are action/reason enabled, but you cannot select the delivered withdrawal contribution type. Withdrawn contributions have special processing, and this value should not be used for entries of Service Unknown to system.

If you want to purchase withdrawn contributions using the Service Unknown to System option, you must create a new service purchase type for this. However, be aware that a service purchase account, not a withdrawal account, will be used to store the balance.

Verification ID

Optionally identify the ID for an employment history verification record. Only records with the status Verified are available for selection.

Begin Date and End Date

Enter the begin and end dates of the period for which service may be purchased. If you entered a verification ID, the begin and end date for the verified employment are used as default values for the service purchase type begin and end date.

Eligibility Status

Initially, the Eligibility Status is Undetermined. When you click the Determine Eligibility button, the system changes this value to either Eligible or Ineligible.

If the Eligibility Override Allowed check box is selected on the Service Purchase Configuration - Eligibility page, this field is editable. Otherwise, it is read-only.

Create Estimate

If the service purchase type is determined to be eligible for service purchase, the Create Estimate button becomes active. Clicking this button creates a new service purchase record and transfers you to the Service Purchase page, where you can calculate costs and benefits and create and manage service purchase estimates.

Service Purchase ID

Displays the system-generated unique identifier for the service purchase transaction.

Current Status

Displays the status of the service purchase transaction. You can manually set this status using the Status field at the bottom of this page.

See The Lifecycle of a Service Purchase Transaction.

Status Reason

Displays the status reason for the current status. To manually assign a reason, use the enterable Status Reason field at the bottom of this page.

Transaction Date

Displays the date this service purchase transaction was created.

Estimate Selected

A service purchase transaction can have multiple estimates that model different options. Only one estimate, however, can be submitted. When you submit an estimate, the Estimate Selected field displays the numeric identifier of the submitted estimate.

Verification ID

If the estimate includes service that you entered on the Service Unknown to System page, and if that service is associated with an employment verification record, this field displays the unique identifier for that verification record.

Case Identifier

This field is visible only if the Display Case Identifier check box is selected on the Pension Installation Page. You can manually enter a case number to match this verification request with a case in your employee help desk system. The case number is informational only.

Service Purchase Type

Displays the service purchase type for the transaction.

Zero Cost to Purchase

This field is visible only if the Allow Zero Cost check box is selected on the Service Purchase Configuration - Cost Page. The initial value is No, but you can change the value to Yes to reinstate service at no cost to the employee.

When you select Yes, the Service Purchase Cost field on this page becomes read-only and displays a zero value. Service adjustments are automatically applied when the status of the purchase is updated to Elected, and after the service adjustments are applied, the system updates the status to Complete.

Begin Date and End Date

Displays the beginning and ending date of the leave period for which the employee is purchasing service. If the service purchase type is Withdrawn Contributions, these fields are blank.

Expiration Date

Displays the date when the service purchase estimate is no longer valid if it has not yet been elected.

The system sets the expiration date at the time the estimate is submitted. The length of time that an estimate remains valid after submission is determined by the Expiration Duration fields on the Service Purchase Configuration - Parameters Page.

Approval Date

Displays the date, if any, that the service purchase was put into Approved status.

Employee Account

After the service purchase transaction is submitted, this field displays the employee account where purchase payments are entered. This account is a service purchase account or a withdrawal account, depending on the service purchase type.

Create Purchase Agreement

This button is visible if the agreement is in Submitted status. Click to generate a purchase agreement letter to send to the employee.

This letter is a report that is generated using Oracle BI Publisher. The report definition is SPFNLAGRLTR.

View Payments

This link is visible if the agreement is in Elected status. Click to open the Review Payments Page in a modal window so that you can review payments.

Estimate Number

A service purchase transaction can have multiple estimates that model different options. This field displays the numeric identifier that the system assigns to each estimate.

Estimate Description

Enter a description of each estimate.

Create Estimate Report

Click this button to generate an estimate report for the employee. This report summarizes the employee’s service amount, the benefit amount with and without the service purchase, the cost of purchasing the service, and payment information for purchasing the service.

This letter is a report that is generated using Oracle BI Publisher. The report definition is SPESTRPT.

Primary

This read-only check box is selected for the service function result that is used in the plan’s benefit calculation.

Service Account

Displays the name of the service function result.

Available to Purchase and Units

Displays the amount of service that is available to purchase.

Amount to Purchase

Displays the amount of service to be purchased. This field is editable if the Allow Service Override check box is selected on the Service Purchase Configuration - Parameters page. If overrides are not allowed, the amount to purchase is always the same as the amount available to purchase.

Changing the amount to purchase clears related information from the estimate, including cost information and the benefit amount with the purchased service.

Adjusted Begin Date and Adjusted End Date

Displays the adjusted begin and end dates of the leave period. These dates might be different from the actual leave dates depending on the plan rules regarding service accrual during leave periods. For example, a plan may grant service through the end of the month when an employee goes on leave, even if the leave starts mid-month. In this scenario, the adjusted begin date is the first day of the following month, and the time from the leave date through the end of the month would not be available for purchase.

Service Period

Displays the total service represented by the adjusted leave period dates for this function result.

Period Adjustments

Displays the total amount of service already purchased back for this period. The system calculates this amount based on:

• Service purchased through other service purchase transactions in Elected, Payment in Progress, or Complete status.

• Service recorded on the Upgrade Existing Purchases page for the same leave period.

Maximum

Displays the maximum amount of service allowed by the service definition.

Total Service and Units

Displays the employee’s total service for the service function result.

Service Withdrawn

Displays the amount of service that was lost as a result of the withdrawn contributions.

Service Buyback

Displays the amount of lost service that was previously bought back.

Amount to Purchase

Displays the amount of service remaining for purchase. Service override parameters do not apply to withdrawn contributions, so this field is always read-only.

Amount to Purchase

Enter the amount of service to purchase. Because the system cannot derive the amount of service, this information must be manually entered.

Service Purchase Cost

Displays the cost to purchase the amount of service shown in the Amount to Purchase field. The system populates this field when you click the Calculate Cost button, and clears the data if you change the amount of service to purchase.

This field is editable if the Allow Cost Override check box is selected on the Service Purchase Configuration - Cost page.

If the Zero Cost to Purchase field is visible with a value of Yes, the Service Purchase Cost field is read-only and shows a zero amount.

Datetime Updated

Displays the date and time that the Service Purchase Cost field was last updated, either by the system or (if overrides are allowed) by manual entry.

Calculate Cost

Click to calculate the cost to purchase the amount of service shown in the Amount to Purchase field. Cost is calculated using the method specified on the Service Purchase Configuration - Cost page. If the calculation method is Use Calculation, default calculation parameters come from the Cost Calculation Defaults Page.

Payment Type

The payment type options depend on settings on the Service Purchase Configuration - Payments page, and can include a lump sum payment, installment payments, or payments made through payroll deductions.

Select Lump Sum if the employee will make a single lump payment.

Select Installments if payments will be made over a predefined number of payment periods.

Select Deductions if payments will be made through payroll deductions. If this payment method is used, you must manually enter the deduction into the payroll system to start payments. The pension system will establish corresponding balances in the employee’s service purchase account, and deductions will be credited to the account in the same way that regular pension contributions are credited to employee accounts.

Create additional rows in the Payment Option Detail grid to set up combination options. For example, an employee could pay half the cost with an initial lump sum payment and the other half in periodic installments.

Tax Type

Select Pre-Tax or Post-Tax to indicate whether payments will be made with pre-tax or post-tax money. This information is necessary so that the employee account can accurately track pre-tax and post-tax contributions, which affects the tax treatment of the employee’s eventual benefit.

Cost Amount

Enter the amount to be paid using the specific payment method. The total cost amount across all rows in this grid must equal the service purchase cost. If the Service Purchase Configuration - Payments page specifies a minimum amount for a particular payment method, the system validates that this minimum is met.

Interest Rate

Displays the default interest rate that is configured for this payment method on the Service Purchase Configuration - Payments page. If the Override Interest Rate check box is selected on the Service Purchase Configuration - Payments page, this field is editable.

Payment Start Date

Enter the date of the first payment (or, for lump sum payments, the date of that payment).

Number of Payments

If the payment type is Deductions or Installments, enter the number of payments across which the cost is spread.

If the payment type is Lump Sum, this field is read only and displays the value 1.

Payment Frequency

If the payment type is Deductions or Installments, select one of the following as the payment frequency: Weekly, Biweekly, Monthly, Semimonthly, Quarterly, Annual, or Onetime Payment.

If the payment type is Lump Sum, this field is read only and displays the value Onetime Payment.

Payment Amount

The system calculates and displays a payment amount based on the payment options you entered.

Current Benefit

Displays the employee’s pension benefit without the purchased service.

Benefit With Purchase

Displays the employee’s pension benefit with the purchased service. The system clears this value if you change the service to purchase amount.

Frequency

Displays the frequency for both the current benefit and the benefit with purchase.

Datetime Updated

Displays the date and time that the benefit amounts were last calculated.

Retirement Age(YY.MM)

This field is visible if the Event Age/Date Option on the Service Purchase Configuration - Benefit Page is Age.

Enter the employee’s assumed retirement age to use in the calculation. Enter the age in years and months using the format YY.MM where YY is years and MM is months.

Retirement Date

This field is visible if the Event Age/Date Option on the Service Purchase Configuration - Benefit Page is Date.

Enter an assumed retirement date to use in the benefit calculation.

If the Event Age/Date Option on the Service Purchase Configuration - Benefit page is Date Alias, the alias provides the date and it is not necessary to enter either an age or date on the service purchase transaction.

Annual Salary % Increase

This field is visible if the Allow User Salary Increase check box is selected on the Benefit Amount Calc Defaults Page. Optionally enter an assumed rate of salary increase to use in the benefit calculation.

Calculate Benefit

Click to calculate the employee’s benefit with and without the service purchase. Cost is calculated using the method specified on the Service Purchase Configuration - Benefit page. If the calculation method is Use Calculation, default calculation parameters come from the Benefit Calc Defaults page.

Estimate Number

This field is visible only if the current status is Estimated. Before you update the status to Submitted, use this field to specify the estimate number that are submitting.

Status

Update the status of the service purchase transaction to move the transaction through the service purchase process. The values available in the Status field depend on the current status, as described in the topic The Lifecycle of a Service Purchase Transaction.

Status Reason

Optionally select a reason for the status assignment. Reasons for each status are configured on the service purchase Status Reasons Page

Refund Payments

If the Allow Refund check box on the Service Purchase Configuration - Payment Options Page is selected, this field appears when you select the status Canceled for a transaction that is currently in Receiving Payments status. Before you can cancel the transaction, you must select Yes or No to indicate whether payments are to be refunded.