One of the most useful features of PlanSponsorLink is the ability to quickly and easily collect year-end data from a Plan Sponsor. This article will explain how Annual Data Collection is performed on PlanSponsorLink; this resource is intended primarily for TPAs seeking to familiarize themselves with PlanSponsorLink and guide their clients through this process.
Tier Availability: Team, Business
Article Contents
Getting Started
Annual Data Collection can be performed via PlanSponsorLink in PensionPro's Team and Business tiers. However, the methods for launching Data Collection vary slightly between the two tiers.
Team
A Data Collection Template can be specified when a new Plan Cycle record is added for a Plan. This will enable Annual Data Collection in PlanSponsorLink for that Plan Year. Refer to the article Data Collection with PensionPro TEAM.
Business
An Annual Administration Project is launched from a Project Template that has Web Collection enabled. This will enable Annual Data Collection in PlanSponsorLink for the period determined by the Project. Refer to the article Annual Administration Projects.
Viewing Year End Data Collection Tasks
In order for a Plan Sponsor to see the Year End Data Collection task on their My Active Tasks tab in PlanSponsorLink, all of the following must be true:
- The Project or Plan Cycle containing Data Collection must be launched for the correct Plan.
- The Census Request Sent step of Data Collection must be completed by the TPA.
- This step may be completed manually, or may be completed automatically by sending a Census Request Blast Email. Refer to the article Blast Email for Data Collection.
- The Plan Sponsor must be added to the Plan as a Plan Contact Role.
- The Plan Sponsor must be assigned at least one Annual Data Collection Website Right. Refer to the Website Rights for Plan Contacts section of the article Managing PlanSponsorLink Users.
- Annual Data Collection must not yet be approved and submitted.
Once Year End Data Collection is active, the Plan Sponsor can select the Begin Task button to begin or resume any relevant Data Collection steps.
Annual Data Collection Steps
This section provides an overview of the steps that a Plan Sponsor will complete during Annual Data Collection. These steps cannot be reordered or removed. Certain aspects of these steps—such as instructions and data validation options—can be edited; refer to the PlanSponsorLink, Annual Data Collection, and Web Steps sections of the article PlanSponsorLink Preferences.
General (Step 1)
Website Rights Required: Employer Census
This step is used to update the company's address and phone number information. Changes made here will immediately be reflected in the Client record. If desired, an Address Change notification email may be sent to the TPA based on the settings in PensionPro Preferences.
Company (Step 2)
Website Rights Required: Employer Census
This step is used to verify legal and fiscal company information, such as EIN, year end, entity type, and payroll details.
Principals (Step 3)
Website Rights Required: Principals
This step is used to record information about the company's owners and other officers. This step cannot be completed until the total ownership is 100% or greater across all entries.
For non-profit organizations, attributing 100% ownership to the name of the company (and selecting No Title) is sufficient to clear this step.
Family (Step 4)
Website Rights Required: Employer Census
This step is used to record information about any family members of company principals who are employed with the company. This step may be completed with no data entered.
Business (Step 5)
Website Rights Required: Businesses
This step is used to record information about any other businesses owned by the company. Owner information may be added to any business entry line item. This step may be completed with no data entered.
Contact (Step 6)
Website Rights Required: Contacts
This step lists the current Contact Roles for the Plan, their contact details, and the Website Rights they possess. The Plan Sponsor can request that new Contacts be added, or that changes be made to existing Contacts. The TPA is responsible for reviewing and implementing the requests. If desired, a Contact Change notification email may be sent to the TPA based on the settings in PensionPro Preferences. This step may be completed with no changes requested.
Plan (Step 7)
Website Rights Required: Employer Census
This step provides a questionnaire for collecting general plan and company information. This questionnaire can be customized within the Project or Data Collection Template. This step cannot be completed until answers are provided for all required questions.
5500 (Step 8)
Website Rights Required: Employer Census
This step provides a questionnaire for collecting information necessary to fill out the 5500 tax form. This questionnaire can be customized within the Project or Data Collection Template. This step cannot be completed until answers are provided for all required questions.
Employees (Step 9)
Website Rights Required: Employee Census
The yearly employee census is added and maintained on this step. For full instructions on managing census data within both PensionPro and PlanSponsorLink, refer to the article Working with the Employee Census.
If a census does not need to supplied for any reason, selecting Save allows this step to be completed even when no census data has been entered.
Approval (Step 10)
Website Rights Required: Approval
This is the final step of Annual Data Collection. The Plan Sponsor can return to any previous step to verify the accuracy of the data provided. Any documents or notes that the Plan Sponsor would like to provide with their submission may be added at this time.
When all steps are completed and the Plan Sponsor is satisfied with the provided data, they may then Sign and Submit. A popup window will ask for the Plan Sponsor's name and email to serve as their signature of approval. The Plan Sponsor will receive a confirmation email following submission.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Nothing is appearing on the Contacts step for my Plan Sponsor. What should appear there?
This step should list the Plan Contact Roles, found on the Plan tab > Contact Roles view. A Contact will only be listed if Show on PSL is set to Yes. If no Contacts are shown, this likely indicates that the Show on PSL values are set incorrectly.