Customizing the Employee Census

Every year, a Plan Sponsor is required to submit census data for each person employed by their company. However, the specific census data that is required will differ between Plan types, and can even differ between TPA firms. Furthermore, that census data may then need to be formatted in a specific way to be compatible with other software systems. PensionPro gives the TPA full control over what employee information the Plan Sponsor needs to provide and how it will be exported.

Tier Availability: Team, Business

Article Contents

• Overview of Census Customization
• Editing Census Field Descriptions
  • User-Defined Fields
• Customizing the Census Layout with Formats
  • Managing Census Formats
  • Setting a Plan's Census Format
• Census Export Templates
  • Creating Export Templates
  • Managing Census Fields on Export Templates
• Associated Articles

Overview of Census Customization

Preparing the employee census to be used in Annual Data Collection follows three basic steps:

1. Fields: Set a census field's name and description to the firm's liking.
2. Layout: Decide which fields will be used (and in what order) for each Plan type.
3. Export: Determine how census data should be exported from PensionPro after it's collected.

The below items will introduce each of these concepts in more detail.

Fields & Descriptions

PensionPro dictates what fields are available for use on the employee census and what information is collected. However, the TPA firm can rename each of these fields to fit their preferred terminology. The firm can also edit a field's description and format text; the Plan Sponsor can refer to these items to understand what information is being requested and how it should be input.

Although firms are unable to add their own fields to this list, PensionPro provides a selection of "undefined" fields of varying data types to be customized and employed as the firm sees fit.

Census Layouts

While PensionPro provides the ability to edit aspects of census fields, not all fields will be useful in all situations. For this reason, PensionPro allows the the list and layout of census fields to be customized per Plan type. 

For each Plan type, fields can be added to or removed from the census as necessary, and there is additional control over how visible the field is to the Plan Sponsor. Fields can also be marked as required or optional.

Export Templates

Once the census data is in PensionPro, it can be exported in a variety of formats to match any other systems that require it. This is done via templating; each export template defines the order of the exported fields and the names used in their column headers, so a single census can be exported into multiple distinct layouts. Users will select which export template to use when exporting the census.

Firms that use PensionPro alongside ASC's retirement plan software also have the ability to quickly create export templates to match ASC's import layout. Census data can also be optionally validated on export to ensure the import file complies with ASC's standards.

Editing Census Field Descriptions

Requires Security Rights: Maintenance

This section details the customization of individual census fields. When working with census and export layouts later in this article, the fields that are available for use are the same as the fields in this section.

To open the list of collection fields:

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Preferences > PensionPro. The corresponding tab opens.
2. In the Views list on the left, select Field Descriptions.

The Field Descriptions grid contains all census fields that are available for use. Fields cannot be added or deleted, but some elements can be customized. To edit a census field, hover over it and select Edit on the right-hand side.

Plan Sponsors will see the field's Display Name as opposed to the Column Name. They can view descriptions and formats by using the Field Descriptions option on the Employees step of Data Collection; these will also be included if the Plan Sponsor downloads an import template.

User-Defined Fields

As a way to offer additional flexibility when planning census fields, the Field Descriptions grid includes a number of fields meant to be customized and used in census layouts as needed. These fields are named based on their data type, such as User Defined Checkbox 1.

The following user-defined fields are available:

• 2 Checkbox fields – for Yes/No responses
• 3 Date fields – MM/DD/YYYY format
• 2 Integer fields – for whole numbers (such as number of dependents)
• 5 Number fields – for decimal point numbers (such as a currency value)
• 3 Text fields – for any string of text characters, or for numbers not intended to be used for calculations (such as a zip code)

Customizing the Census Layout with Formats

Census formats—the layout of columns on the employee census—are built using the census fields outlined in the previous section. Each Plan in PensionPro is assigned a census format; any Data Collection launched for the Plan will use that format's census settings.

Managing Census Formats

Requires Security Rights: Maintenance

To access census formats:

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Preferences > PensionPro. The corresponding tab opens.
2. In the Views list on the left, select Census Formats.

Census Formats Grid

Each entry in the Census Formats grid represents a single format—a customized collection of census fields that specifies which fields are available, and of those, which must be completed by the Plan Sponsor.

Hovering over a census format in the grid displays the following options on the right-hand side:

Copy  –  Duplicate the format, including the settings for all included fields.
Edit  –  Edit the format's details, such as its Name, whether it is Default, and whether it is Active.
Delete  –  Permanently delete the format. Cannot be used if the format is currently in-use by a Plan.

To add a new census format:

1. Select Add at the top-right of the grid. The corresponding window displays.
2. Enter a Name.
3. (optional) Enter a Description and determine if the format should be Default.
4. Select Save. The format is added to the grid.

Fields Grid for Census Formats

To view the census fields used for a given census format, double-click its entry in the Census Formats grid to open it. The grid will display all fields that have already been added to the chosen format.

The First Name and Last Name fields will always be present and cannot be removed; any other census fields may be customized as desired. Hovering over a census field in the grid displays the following options on the right-hand side:

Edit  –  Edit the field's details, such as its Required and Visible settings.
Delete  –  Remove the field from the census.

Census fields may be rearranged by clicking and dragging a field up or down in the list. This determines the order the columns are displayed in the census grid.

To add a field to the census:

1. Select Add at the top-right of the grid. The corresponding window displays.
2. Use the Column Name dropdown to select the desired census field.
3. (optional) Select Visible and/or Required as needed.
4. (optional) If the column is numeric, select Require Total to enable amount validation.
   • If this setting is enabled, enter a Total Amount Description to provide additional information to the Plan Sponsor.
5. Select Save.

Setting a Plan's Census Format

Requires Security Rights: Add/Edit Plan

To specify which census format a given Plan should use:

1. Open the desired Plan in a new tab. If needed, navigate to the General view.
2. Select Edit at the top-right of the General Plan Information grid. The corresponding window displays.
3. Select the desired Census Format.
4. Select Save.

Census Export Templates

Requires Security Rights: Maintenance

Census layouts define how census data appears in PensionPro and PlanSponsorLink. Conversely, export templates dictate what the data should look like when it's exported from PensionPro. A user exporting an employee census from Data Collection will select the template containing the format they need; any number of export templates can be created and used.

To access census export templates:

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Preferences > PensionPro. The corresponding tab opens.
2. In the Views list on the left, select Export Templates.

The Export Templates grid displays any existing census export templates.

To edit or delete an export template, hover over it in the grid and select Edit or Delete on the right-hand side.

Creating Export Templates

To create a new export template:

1. Select Add at the top-right of the Export Templates grid. The corresponding window displays.
2. Select an Action.
   • Copy ASC Default will create an export template with census fields already added and arranged for easy import into ASC software.
   • Create New Template will add a blank export template with no census fields added.
3. Enter a Name for the template.
4. Set the ASC Validation and Do not include 'Total' row options as desired.
5. (optional) Enter a Description.
6. (optional) Select a Format.
7. (optional) Select Make Default to set this as the default export template.
8. Select Save.

The new export template will be added to the grid. If Create New Template was used as the Action, this template will be blank; follow the instructions in the next section (Managing Census Fields on Export Templates) to add census fields to the template.

Instead of creating a new export template from scratch, it can sometimes be easier to duplicate an existing template and edit its settings and census fields as needed. To duplicate a template, hover over it in the grid and select Copy on the right-hand side.

Managing Census Fields on Export Templates

The export template defines what the exported census will look like and controls what census fields are included, and in what order. The process is similar to managing census layouts.

To get started, double-click a template in the Export Templates grid to open it; the grid will update to display any census fields that have already been added to that template.

To edit a field, hover over it in the grid and select Edit on the right-hand side. Only the Exported Column Name can be edited.

To add or remove fields to/from the export template:

1. Select Add at the top-right of the Export Templates Fields grid. The corresponding window displays.
2. Use the Field Name dropdown to select the desired fields. The chosen fields will be listed below the dropdown.
3. Select Remove to remove an item from the list of chosen fields.
4. When satisfied, select Save.

A field can also be removed from the export template by hovering over it in the grid and selecting Delete on the right-hand side.

Census fields may be rearranged by dragging a field up or down in the list. This determines the order the columns are displayed on the exported census.

Associated Articles

• Data Collection - Annual Data Collection
• Working with the Employee Census
• PensionPro Preferences