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Benefit Cost Bands

Overview

Cost Bands Table (Found Online and Accessible from a Benefit Cost Code Marked as "Costs are Banded or Custom")

Fields on the Cost Bands Table

Access to benefit Cost Band Code table that the system uses is available online only. Login online through a web role such as Payroll & HR Enterprise. Open the Benefit Code, and then the Benefit Cost Code.  On the Benefit cost code, to display the button for Cost Bands, select the checkbox for "Band/Custom Cd", then click on the Cost Bands button to open the Cost Bands table. Select a record from the selection list at the top-right of the panel.

• Code (required).   The band/custom code should bef ten characters or less with no spaces or special characters. Avoid changing a code name on an existing record.

For Cost Band Codes, if there are different tables needed based on gender, tobacco use status, or zip code, define multiple records with the same Code value. This differs from the setup of many tables, which normally require a unique value by code. One Cost Band Code can be selected per Benefit Cost Code record, but all Cost Band records with the same Code value can be used by benefit processing for that record. This enables more robust setup of tables.

• Description (required).  A description can be thirty characters or less for the cost band. When more than one Cost Band record exists with the same code, consider adding Multi to the description.
• Active?  An active code has the Active checkbox selected, making the code available and keeping the code in effect as a valid choice. Where more than one Cost Band record has the same code, the Cost Band Code may remain selectable if code records with the same name remain active.

Cost Filters

Each cost band can be filtered to apply to only employees with the following demographic factors. By defining multiple Cost Band Codes, different cost tables can be defined to apply to these criteria. If you complete any cost filters, the setup may need additional Cost Band records. For instance, if a set of costs applies to males, a set of costs would typically be needed for females, and there may need to be another set of costs for any other gender designation found in the system.

• Tobacco Use.  To define a cost band by tobacco use, select a tobacco use code in the Tobacco field. When this isn't relevant, typically code 3, Tobacco Use Not Applicable, is selected.
• Gender.  To define a cost band by gender, select a gender in the Gender field. When gender is not applicable to the cost, leave the Gender selection blank on this record.
• Zip.  To define cost bands that vary geographically by zip code, enter each affected zip codes in the Zip field, or define zip codes by range. The band applies to zip codes equal to or greater than the zip code entered. The zip code from an employee's primary mailing address on the Employee Master is used as the zip code for benefit cost bands. When zip code isn't relevant to the cost setup, leave the Zip field blank.

Cost Rules

• Banded?  For costs with cost bands, select the "Banded" option.
• Custom?  The "Custom" option is reserved for use in setups that have custom-defined cost algorithms outside the standard system setup.  
• Multiple of Benefit Amt?  When a Cost Band definition sets costs that are multiples of the benefit amount (such as a life insurance amount), then select the checkbox for "Multiple of Benefit Amt" and be sure that costs are defined in the non-fixed columns.
• Payroll Function.  When plans have custom-defined cost algorithms, then the a value for the payroll function may be provided by the developer of the algorithm.
• Enrollment Function.  When plans have custom-defined cost algorithms or custom-defined algorithms for benefit assignment based on other selections in the employee self service benefit enrollment, then the a value for the enrollment function may be provided by the developer of the algorithm.

Cost Bands

Each cost band has the fields for years, associated costs, and any benefit amount limit for filtering whether the cost band applies. Use the small icons to add, edit, and delete these banding records as needed. When you add or edit, a separate screen opens up to enable defining the values. Since these are ranges, these do need to be listed in order from the lowest number of years (as low as 0 in some cases) to the greatest number of years (often 99 and sometimes 150).

Individual bands defined on a Cost Band record apply to years equal to or greater than the number of years entered. The Benefit Cost Code defines what years are used and how those years are calculated.

• Min Yrs.  Per band, define the minimum number of years. Often, the first band starts with a minimum of 0 or 1.
• Max Yrs.  Per band, define the maximum number of years. The maximum per band is found in the cost banding tables provided by the benefit carrier or benefits broker.
• Fixed EE $.  The employee's fixed annual cost for the benefit according to the defined criteria. This helps define the employee's cost. Omit this value and leave it blank if an EE $ is defined.
• Fixed ER $.  The employer's fixed annual cost for the benefit according to the defined criteria. This helps define the employer's cost. Omit this value and leave it blank if an ER $ is defined.
• EE $.  The employee's annual cost for the benefit according to the defined criteria. This helps define the employee's cost.  This can be a fixed cost or a value that will be multiplied by the benefit amount.
• ER $.  The employer's annual cost for the benefit according to the defined criteria. This helps define the employer's cost. This can be a fixed cost or a value that will be multiplied by the benefit amount.
• Min Ben Amt.  Per band, any corresponding minimum benefit amount for the benefit, especially the range of benefit amounts is defined per band instead of on the Benefit Cost code records.  

Note: The range of minimum and maximum benefit amounts for each band can be used to filter out the applicability of this cost band to a particular Employee Benefit Detail. Instead of just limiting the Benefit Amount for the cost band, entering the minimum and maximum can filter out plans with Benefit Amounts outside of the band definition.

• Max Ben Amt.  Per band, any corresponding maximum benefit amount for the benefit according to the defined criteria, especially if the range of benefit amounts is defined per band instead of on the Benefit Cost code records.