Manually Adding an Offered Benefit Plan

This article covers how to manually add an Offered Benefit Plan (OBP) to a Benefits Batch.

Note: There are multiple ways to add offered benefit plans to a Benefits Batch. See Offered Benefit Plans.

To manually add an Offered Benefit Plan:

  1. From the modules bar, click Workspaces.

    The Workspace Search dashboard opens.
  2. Select the desired workspace and click (Open).

    The Workspace page opens.

  3. Move down the page to the administrative tiles where you see the dataform categories.

  4. Enter "Benefits Batch" in the search for dataform field and then click the Benefits Batch tile.

    The Benefits Batch window displays.

  5. Complete the fields as applicable. Required fields are Category and Benefit Group.

    Field Description
    Category This is the Plan Category used to filter the list of available benefit plans. EX: Health, Dental, Vision, of Life.
    Benefit Plan

    Select the offered plan.
    Rate Group

    Select the premium rate group for this plan from the associated master Benefit Plan.

     

    When you do this, the premium rates for each coverage level is displayed in the grid at the top of the form. This grid displays the employee contribution dollar amount, employer contribution dollar amount and the Total Premium.

    The Total Client Premium section of the OBP also auto-fills with the rate information from the selected Rate Group.
    Renewed From

    This is a read only field. The Renewed From field is blank on new manually added OBPs since the plan has never been renewed. When the associated Benefits Batch is renewed, this plan (along with other associated OBPs in this batch) copy in New status to a new Benefits Batch. The old Benefits Batch and associated OBPs are expired and the Renewed From field of the newly cloned OBPs in the new batch is auto-filled with the name of the expired plan as shown below:

    Client Plan Code

    If the client has their own identifier for the selected benefit plan, enter the Client Plan Codehere.

    Note: If Client Plan Code is not entered, the SetClientPlanCode business rule method sets the field value to the Import ID of the related benefit plan.

    Benefit Group

    Select the Benefit Group.

     

    A Benefit Group allows you to add an additional layer of specialization to a plan. You also define the enrollment waiting period on the Benefit Group record.

    EX: You could create a Benefit Group record named "25PLUS" to classify employees who have been with your client's organization for more than 25 years and modify the employer contributions in PrismHR to provide a seniority-based discount to employees in this group.

     

    Note: The combination of the Benefit Plan, Rate Group and Benefit Group comprise a unique benefit plan. These fields must match corresponding fields in PrismHR for a Benefit Plan export to occur.

    Benefits Batch

    The value defaults to the associated Benefits Batch name.

    Status

    The Status defaults to New for new, manually created OBPs. The other statuses (i.e., Selected, Pending Activation, Active, Rejected) can be set manually, but are typically set by workflow.

     

    For instance, clicking the Select link in the Action Center, under Workflow selects an offered plan for export to PrismHR and sets the Status to Selected. Likewise, clicking the Reject link excludes the plan from being exported and sets the Status to Rejected.
    Effective Date

    Enter the effective date that will apply to the offered plan. Ensure that it matches the effective date on the associated Benefits Batch. If you do not enter the Effective Date on the OBP, the Effective Date from the Benefits Batch is set on the OBP when you save.

     

    Note: A Validate OBP to BB Effective Date business rule (System Admin > Advanced > Manage Rules) triggers a soft error message when you attempt to save an Offered Benefit Plan (OBP) associated with a Benefits Batch where the OBP Effective Date does not match the Effective Date on the Benefits Batch:

     

    "This [OBPName] Offered Benefit Plan's effective date XX/XX/XXXX does not match the associated Benefit Batches effective date of XX/XX/XXXX."
    Expiration Date

    Optionally, enter the expiration date that will apply to the offered plan. If you do not enter the Expiration Date, ClientSpace calculates it on:

    • Renewed Benefits Batches and their associated Offered Benefit Plans.

    • Expired Benefits Batches and their associated Offered Benefit Plans.

    If ClientSpace calculates the Expiration Date, it is calculated and set on the Benefits Batch as one year from the Effective Date on the associated Benefits Batch minus one day.

     

    Note:The Expiration Date field must be blank to be populated by ClientSpace. Expiration Date fields with existing values are skipped.

    HRA Offered?

    Click the checkbox if this is a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) plan.

    HSA Offered?

    Click the checkbox if this is a Health Savings Account (HSA) plan.

    Total Client Premium
    Override Client Premium

    The Client Premium comes from the master plan Rate Group for each coverage type and should be overridden only if necessary as this information is cloned from the master plan and should rarely require overriding. Clicking Override Client Premium makes the premium fields for each coverage type in the Total Client Premium fieldset accessible.

     

    Note: If you override the client premiums, the grid located at the top if the Offered Benefits Plan window is updated to reflect both the Employer and Employee contribution for each coverage type.
    EE Premium Use this field to enter an override to the Employee Only premium.
    ES Premium Use this field to enter an override to the Employee + Spouse premium.
    EC Premium Use this field to enter an override to the Employee + Child premium.
    EK Premium Use this field to enter an override to the Employee + Domestic Partner premium.
    EF Premium Use this field to enter an override to the Employee + Family premium.

    Employer Contributions (%)

    Contribution Method

    Select an option. Valid options included Manually Set Dollars, Manually Set Percentages, Contribute EO Premium, Match EO Contribution, and Combine EO and Dependent. See Setting Employer Contributions for option definitions.

    Dependent Contrib%

    This field is used with the Combine EO and Dependent Contribution Method. See Setting Employer Contributions for details, including an example.

    EO %/Dollar Amount

    Enter the EO% or Dollar Amount based on your Contribution Method selection. Depending on your selection, ClientSpace may calculate some or all of these fields for you. See Setting Employer Contributions for details.

    ES %/Dollar Amount

    Enter the ES% or Dollar Amount based on your Contribution Method selection. Depending on your selection, ClientSpace may calculate some or all of these fields for you. See Setting Employer Contributions for details.

    EC %/Dollar Amount

    Enter the EC% or Dollar Amount based on your Contribution Method selection. Depending on your selection, ClientSpace may calculate some or all of these fields for you. See Setting Employer Contributions for details.

    EK %/Dollar Amount

    Enter the EK% or Dollar Amount based on your Contribution Method selection. Depending on your selection, ClientSpace may calculate some or all of these fields for you. See Setting Employer Contributions for details.

    EF % /Dollar Amount

    Enter the EF% or Dollar Amount based on your Contribution Method selection. Depending on your selection, ClientSpace may calculate some or all of these fields for you. See Setting Employer Contributions for details.

    Setup Details

    Note:  Setup Details export to PrismHR in the Benefit Rules Export. The exported fields correspond to matching fields in PrismHR. They provide billing and payroll deduction information about the benefit plan to PrismHR.

    One Month Prepay

    Click the checkbox if One Month Prepay applies for this plan. One Month Prepay determines whether to bill the client and deduct the amounts from the employees for the next month in the current month. For example, bill and deduct in July for August. This is not applicable for weekly plans.

    Add One Month for Prepay

    Add One Month for Prepay determines whether the system should check for and use any new rates and rules in the upcoming month. For example, during a July payroll, PrismHR checks if there are rules and rates that go into effect in August. This is not applicable for weekly plans.

    Cafe Eligible

    Select this option if this plan is a cafeteria plan (which is a flexible benefits plan that allows an employee to choose from a variety of benefits).
    Rounding Method Select the rounding method used to round calculated numbers to a whole number. Leave this field blank if you do not want to round off the calculated values.
    Wash Rule

    This option determines whether a billing wash rule is in effect for this plan. If a billing wash rule is applied, a new hire or terminated employee may or may not be charged the monthly plan premium and deduction for the plan. Whether they are charged is determined based on where the coverage start or end date falls in relation to the wash rule day.

    Wash Rule Day If you checked Wash Rule, select the day of the month that will be used in the billing wash rule calculations to determine whether a new hire or terminated employee must pay the monthly plan premium and deduction for the plan.

    Annual Periods

    Calculates the employee deduction amount into either 48 or 52 deduction periods.

    Coverage Ends On

    Indicates the date that plan coverage ends when an employee is terminated. For example, select "Ends at End of Month" to have the coverage end on the final day of the month when an employee was terminated.

    Benefits Billing Frequency

    Determines when plan billing occurs. If you select one of the monthly options, PrismHR bills the client the whole portion at the beginning of the month, and then gives credits for the other pay periods in that month. If you do not make a selection, the system uses the pay period. Weekly plans always use "Pay Period"

    Payroll Deduction Frequency

    Determines whether to override the employee's normal payroll deduction frequency. The standard is to deduct each pay period. However, you can change this to "Monthly" for instance.

    Eligibility Status

    This is the employee status requirement that must be met to make the employee eligible for this plan. EX:  Active

    Eligibility Type

    This is the employment type requirement that makes an employee eligible for this plan. EX: Full -Time

    Minimum Age

    This is the minimum age required to be eligible for this plan.

    Days from Eligibility Status

    This is the minimum days or days of service required to be eligible for this plan. This must be entered as a numeric integer from 0 to 999.

    Eligibility Days From

    This option determines whether to count eligibility days from the Hire Date or Status Date for benefit rules calculation of the FSA/HSA Effective Date in PrismHR.

    • Hire Date: This is the employee's original hire date. In PrismHR, if the Eligibility Days From option is set to Hire Date, and the life event Source ofEffective Date is set to Benefit Rules, the employee eligibility date is based on the original hire date plus any waiting period.

    • Status Date: This is the Life Event Date. In PrismHR, if the Eligibility Days From option is set to Status Date, and the life event Source of Effective Date is set to Benefit Rules, the employee eligibility date is based on the original Life Event Date plus any waiting period.

    Benefit Eligibility Date Used

    This option determines how the system calculates the date employees meet eligibility requirements for this plan.

    • Calculate Eligibility Date: The first day of calculated eligibility.

    • First of Month (after): The first of the month after the date of calculated eligibility.

    • First of month (this month): If the calculated date is the first of a month, the system uses that. If it is another day in the month, it still uses the first of that month.

    Multiplier

    If the amount of coverage for a Life Insurance plan is equal to an amount multiplied by the employee's annual base pay, select the annual pay Multiplier.

    Multiplier Pay Basis

    This is the Multiplier Pay Basis to use when calculating Life Insurance coverage with a Multiplier. You are specifying the method of calculating the annual pay to use with the multiplier. Valid options are Annualized Pay, Prior Year Gross Earnings, or Annualized Pay/Years of Service. In PrismHR, if no selection is made, Annualized Pay is used as the default.

    Round Timing

    Determines whether to round each value used in calculations before they are used in calculations or round the final value after the calculation is complete.

    Coverage Amount

    This is the flat coverage amount.

    Coverage Minimum

    This is the coverage minimum allowed under the plan.

    Coverage Maximum

    This is the coverage maximum allowed under the plan.

    EOCount

    Enter the Employee Only coverage count.

    Note: Coverage Count fields (i.e, EOCount, ECCount, EKCount, ESCount, and EFCount) support the Benefits Renewal Workbook Excel merge in ClientSpace. They are required for each Offered Benefits Plan in the batch if you used the Benefits Renewal merge as they are exported from ClientSpace to the Benefit Renewal workbook and used in spreadsheet calculations. SeeBenefits Renewal Merge.

    ESCount

    Enter the Employee + Spouse coverage count.

    ECCount

    Enter the Employee +Children coverage count.

    EFCount

    Enter the Employee + Family coverage count.

    EKCount

    Enter the Employee + Domestic Partner coverage count.

    Export

    Export Status

    This field holds the export status of an OBP exported to PrismHR using the ClientSpace Benefits Export API. See Benefit Plan API .

    Export Log

    This field holds the export log details of an OBP exported to PrismHR using the ClientSpace Benefits Export API. See Benefit Plan API .

    Prism ClientPlanID

    This field holds the client Plan ID of an OBP record that was added using ClientSpace's Benefits Batch OBP Import from PrismHR. See Using the PrismHR Benefits Batch Offered Benefit Plan (OBP) Import.

    Prism Update

    This is a date/time field used to hold the date/time stamp of an OBP record that was added using ClientSpace's Benefits Batch OBP Import from PrismHR.

    See Using the PrismHR Benefits Batch Offered Benefit Plan (OBP) Import.
  6. Select one of the following Save options:
    • Click Save to save and close the OBP record.
    • Click Apply to save the OBP record without closing it.
    • Click Save & New to save the current OBP record and open a new, blank Offered Benefit Plans: Add form so that you can add another OBP to the current batch.

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