Purpose

The purpose of this bulletin is to inform users of changes to the Savings Plans navigation, page, and process in PayServ 9.2.

Background

The Office of the State Comptroller is upgrading PayServ to PeopleSoft version 9.2. A variety of changes are planned as part of the upgrade including changes to the navigation and page for maintaining employees’ enrollment in the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP), the Voluntary Defined Contribution Plan (VDC), and 403(b) plans, as well as changes to Deduction Codes and Benefit Plans. Moving to Savings Plans pages in v 9.2, as well as converting and consolidating Deductions Codes and Benefit Plans, will eliminate customizations and improve processing.

Effective Dates

PayServ 9.2 changes are effective at Go Live, scheduled for March 15, 2021.

Affected Employees

PayServ users entering or reviewing ORP or VDC plans, or entering or reviewing 403(b) deductions for employees are impacted.

Affected Records

All active Retirement Enrollment records in Plan Type 7Z for employees (1) who are active or (2) who were terminated after January 1, 2015 will be converted at Go Live.

All active 403(b) General Deductions (Deduction Codes 400, 403, 404, 412, 413, 414, and 432) will be converted at Go Live.

ORP Changes

Record and Navigation Change

Retirement Enrollment records with Plan Type 7Z in v 9.1 will be converted to Savings Plans records in v 9.2. Savings Plans enrollment information will be accessed in v 9.2 at Benefits > Enroll In Benefits > Savings Plans. Users must use this page to create and update enrollments for ORP, VDC, and 403(b) plans. All other state and local retirement plans will be maintained separately in v 9.2. Refer to Bulletin No. PIP-008, Changes to Pension Plans for details on those plans.

Plan Type and Benefit Plan Conversion

Plan Types in v 9.2 will be two digit numeric codes. Records with Plan Type 7Z in v 9.1 will converted to Plan Type 4Z in v 9.2. Retirement Plans Crosswalk lists each 9.1 Plan Type and the v 9.2 equivalent Plan Type.

Utilizing the delivered Savings Plans enrollment functionality will allow us to consolidate many Benefit Plans. Three new Benefit Plans will be added for employees currently in suspense. These suspense Benefit Plans will assist in identifying employees who have not completed their 366 day vesting period. The ORP Benefit Plans Crosswalk lists each 9.1 Benefit Plan and the 9.2 equivalent Benefit Plan.

Suspense Page and Processing

Information from the TIAA/CREF Suspense/NRI page in v 9.1 will be on the Suspense Page in v 9.2. The Suspense Page will be accessed at Benefits > Enroll In Benefits > Suspense Page. The page will be view-only and will be maintained automatically by the system. The Adjusted Date of Hire will be populated by the Election Date in the Savings Plans enrollment. The Projected 366 Day and Projected 7 Year Completion Dates will be calculated using the Adjusted Date of Hire. If the employee is terminated before they meet the projected 366 completion date or the projected 7 year completion date these dates will be wiped out. If the employee is rehired the agency will need to calculate the new adjusted hire date.

During the suspense period, v 9.2 has been configured to calculate suspense amounts each pay period using a non-taxable benefit deduction code. These deductions codes are set up automatically when an employee enrolls in a suspense plan and inactivated automatically when the employee reaches the 366 date. Agencies may view suspense codes and amounts on Review Paycheck. They do not appear on employee advices or paystubs.

Benefit Plan Progression

Each pay cycle a process will run to identify employees who have reached their 366 day, 7 year, or 10 year completion dates. New effective dated rows are inserted into the Savings Plans Page, providing an audit of the changes in alignment with the information on the Suspense Page.

When an employee’s Projected 366 Day Completion Date falls within the current pay begin and pay end dates, the system moves the employee to the appropriate non-suspense Benefit Plan, initiates the process for the escrow money to be distributed, and populates the Check Date Escrow Money Sent field on the Suspense Page.

When an employee has reached the 7 year or 10 year completion date, the system automatically moves the employee to the appropriate Benefit Plan. The Automatic Benefit Plan Progression lists the logic used for changing an employee’s Benefit Plan.

Deduction Code Changes

There are several new deduction codes in v 9.2 for ORP/VDC plans. Agencies will be required to calculate Employer Arrears when they calculate the Employee Arrears deductions. More details on Employer Arrears will be shared in the upcoming bulletin, ORP/VDC Arrears. There will be several new contribution deduction codes and interest deduction codes that will be used in v 9.2. Information on all deduction code changes is covered in Payroll Bulletin PIP-016, New and Changing Deduction Codes in PayServ 9.2..

403(b) Changes

Record and Navigation Change

403(b) General Deductions records will be converted to Benefit Deductions in Savings Plans records in v 9.2. Savings Plans enrollment information will be accessed in v 9.2 at Benefits > Enroll In Benefits > Savings Plans. Users must use this page to create and update enrollments for all Savings Plans, including 403(b)s.

Plan Type and Benefit Plan Conversion

403(b) General Deductions (Deduction Codes 400, 403 404, 412, 413, 414, and 432 in v 9.1) will be converted to Savings Plans Benefit Deductions in v 9.2. The 403(b) Conversion Crosswalk lists each v 9.1 403(b) General Deduction and the v 9.2 equivalent information.

Annual Limits

Using Savings Plans allows annual limits to be administered at the plan level. In v 9.2, annual limits will no longer be entered by agencies. Annual limits will be administered at the plan level and will be applied across all an employee’s Empl Records. The 403(b) additional annual amount allowed for employees turning 50 will be automatically processed based upon the employee’s date of birth entered in Personal Data.

Agency Actions

Upon Go Live, agencies must use the new Savings Plans page for enrolling employees in ORP, VDC, and 403(b) plans and for reviewing information about those plans.

Agencies must test any PS Queries they run that refer to the Retirement Enrollment record or General Deductions record and make any updates necessary to refer to the new Savings Plans record and fields.

Enrolling an Employee in a Savings Plan

To enroll an employee in a savings plan, agencies must navigate to the Savings Plans page. If the employee is already enrolled in a Savings Plan a row must be added for each new savings plan. Agencies must fill in the following information for the employee’s savings plan:

• Plan Type (4Z for ORP/VDC, 46 for 403(b))
• Coverage Begin Date
• Deduction Begin Date
• Coverage Election (Elect)
• Benefit Plan
• Before and/or After Tax Amount or Percent, as directed/allowed

Invalid Plan Type and Benefit Plan combinations will cause an error and enrollment will not be allowed. Deductions that are not allowed for a Plan Type or Benefit (e.g., an election on an employer-only plans, or an after tax election on a pre-tax plan) will cause errors and enrollment will not be allowed.

Deductions for the Savings Plans enrollment will begin in the pay cycle based on the Deduction Begin Date entered.

Questions

Questions regarding this bulletin may be directed to the Payroll Improvement Project mailbox. Please include Bulletin No. PIP-011 in the Subject line of the email.