Data Collection with PensionPro TEAM

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PensionPro's popular Data Collection module has been expanded to include our Team tier. Now users can eliminate paper and collect data online, securely and efficiently. Data Collection with Team allows users to initiate Data Collection from PensionPro where plan sponsors can then log into PlanSponsorLink.com (PSL) to securely submit their data such as 5500, plan, and, census information. This data is then populated in an organized format to PensionPro. Additionally, Blast Email is used to communicate to plan sponsors that they have annual data collection to complete and submit, as well as follow-up with those plan sponsors that have not provided the necessary information. Below, users can find information on how to bring all these pieces together to collect year-end data easier than ever before.

 

Tier Availability: Team

Security Rights Required: Maintenance, Add/Edit Plan Cycles, Access Power Tools

 

Article Contents

 

 

 

Set Preferences

 

Before users can begin Data Collection, they must create their PlanSponsorLink and Data Collection Preferences. Users will need to add PlanSponsorLink and Annual Data Collection Preferences, create Web Steps, Field Descriptions and Collection Fields. Users can set up Collection Fields to require an answer and even display which Collection Fields appear based on Plan Type. Users can find directions on how to create these preferences to enable Data Collection in PlanSponsorLink Preferences.

 

 

Confirm Plan Contacts have Website Rights

 

Plan Contacts will need website rights to give them access to complete Data Collection on PlanSponsorLink.com. Users can find steps on how to add Website Rights and a list of each right's function in Managing PlanSponsorLink Users.

 

 

Add a New Data Collection Template

 

Once preferences are established and the appropriate Plan Contacts have been granted Website Rights, users can begin constructing their Data Collection Templates. 

 

  1. From the Navigation Panel, click Maintenance > Templates. 
  2. Hover over the template and click the Copy icon. A Copy Template popup will appear.
    • An Annual Data Collection Default Template already appears in the Data Collection Templates grid. This default template cannot be deleted nor edited.
    • Copied templates will copy the Data Collection Name and append "- Copy" to the end of the name.
  3. Complete the Template items.
    • Enter the Data Collection Template Name.
    • Enter a Template Description if necessary.
    • Confirm the Active checkbox is marked. If the Active checkbox is unchecked, the Data Collection template cannot be launched against any plans.
    • Select an Employee Plan Role from the Data Collection Manager dropdown menu.
  4. Click Save. The copied template will be listed under the All Data Collection Templates grid.

 

 

Edit a Data Collection Template

 

Users can continue to edit a Template Summary if needed.

 

  1. Double-click the template to open it.
    • Default templates are included in the browser. They can be copied, but not edited nor deleted.
  2. Click the Edit icon in the upper right corner of the grid. An Edit Template popup will appear.
  3. Complete the Template items. Users can:
    • Edit the template name
    • Edit the template description
    • Mark the template as active or inactive
    • Update the data collection manager selection for the template
  4. Click Save.

 

 

Edit Plan Questionnaire

 

Users can access the Plan Questionnaire for a template by clicking the Plan Questionnaire Tab located directly under the Summary tab.

 

Add a New Plan Questionnaire Item

  1. Click the Add icon. An Add Questionnaire Item window will appear.
  2. Complete the Questionnaire Items:
    • Enter text in the Question text box.
    • Select the answer data type from the Data Type dropdown.
    • Place a checkmark in the Required checkbox if the question requires an answer.
  3. Click Save.

 

Delete a Plan Questionnaire Item

  1. Hover over a Questionnaire Item to highlight it.
  2. Click the Delete icon. A confirmation message will appear, requesting confirmation of the deletion.
  3. Click Yes to delete the Questionnaire Item.

 

 

Edit 5500 Questionnaire

 

Users can access the 5500 Questionnaire for a template by clicking the 5500 Questionnaire Tab located directly under the Plan Questionnaire tab.

 

Add a New 5500 Questionnaire Item

  1. Click the Add icon. An Add Questionnaire Item window will appear.
  2. Complete the Questionnaire Items:
    • Enter text in the Question text box.
    • Select the answer data type from the Data Type dropdown.
    • Place a checkmark in the Required checkbox if the question requires an answer.
  3. Click Save.

 

Delete a Plan Questionnaire Item

  1. Hover over a Questionnaire Item to highlight it.
  2. Click the Delete icon. A confirmation message will appear, requesting confirmation of the deletion.
  3. Click Yes to delete the Questionnaire Item.

 

 

Launch Data Collection

 

Users can launch their Data Collection in two ways. Users can either launch individual Data Collections manually from the Plan Cycle record or they can launch multiple Data Collections using the Power Tool.

 

Launching Multiple Data Collections

Security Rights Required: Access Power Tools

 

Users can launch multiple Data Collections using the Data Collections Power Tool. The Period Start and Period End of the Data Collection is based on the Plan End found on the Plan Details screen and the year selected in the Data Collections Power Tool date picker. When using the Power Tool to create Data Collections, a Plan Cycle record is created for the same period as the Data Collection.

 

Launching Individual Data Collections

Security Rights Required: Add/Edit Plan Cycles

 

Users can launch individual Data Collections from a Plan Cycle record for a Plan.

 

  1. From the General Plan Information screen, click the Plan Cycles menu.
  2. Double-click the Plan Cycle record for the period that should have the Data Collection created.
    1. If a Plan Cycle has not yet been created, click the Add icon to create a new Plan Cycle.
    2. Enter the Period Start, Period End, and select the Data Collection Template. Click Save when complete.
      • Period Start and End Dates cannot overlap with another Plan Cycle record.
  3. Click the More icon > Add Data Collection button located to the right of the General Plan Cycle Information Grid.

 

Delete Data Collections

Should users need to delete a Data Collection for a plan, users can do so directly from the Plan Cycle.

 

  1. From the General Plan Information screen, click the Plan Cycles menu.
  2. Double-click the Plan Cycle record for the period that should have the Data Collection deleted.
  3. Click the Data Collection menu.
  4. Click the Request tab and click the Edit icon. An Edit Data Collection slider will appear.
  5. Check the Marked for Deletion checkbox and click Save.
  6. From the Navigation Panel, click Maintenance > Data Deletion.
  7. Select Data Collections from the menu on the left.
  8. Click once on a record to highlight it.
    1. Multiple Data Collections can be selected by holding down the Shift or CTRL key.
  9. Click the Delete icon.
  10. Confirm 'Yes' to delete the record(s).

 

 

Viewing and Completing Data Collection

 

Users can track the status of the data collection as plan sponsors complete information on PlanSponsorLink.com.

 

Data Collection Menu

The Data Collection menu is separated into 11 sub-menus located to the left of the screen. A description of each and their function is included below:

 

 

Request

 

First, users will need to notify their plan sponsors that a data collection assignment is waiting for them on PlanSponsorLink.com.

 

Sending a Census Request

Users can accomplish this by using Blast Email. Users can find a Census Request Blast Email Template under Communications > Blast Email to send to their applicable plan sponsors that have Data Collections launched. Blast Email for Data Collection also has information on how to create a Blast Email for Census Requests. Sending a Census Request Blast Email to plan sponsors will make the Data Collection available for plan sponsor with the appropriate website rights to complete on PlanSponsorLink.com.

 

Sending a Census Request Blast Email to a Plan Contact will complete the Census Request Sent step of the Data Collection. Users can also open the Plan Cycle and click Data Collection > Request and click the More icon > Lock to manually complete the Census Request Sent step. Once the Census Request Step is completed the Data Collection will be available for the plan sponsor with the appropriate website rights on PlanSponsorLink.com.

 

Sending a Census Reminder

Users can also send a Census Reminder Blast Email to notify plan sponsors that a Data Collection is available for them to complete on PlanSponsorLink.com, but has not yet been completed.

 

Users can find a Census Reminder Blast Email Template under Communications > Blast Email to send to their applicable plan sponsors that have Data Collections launched. Blast Email for Data Collection also has information on how to create a Blast Email for Census Reminders.

 

Download Report

A report is available on the Data Collection > Request menu of a Plan Cycle. It is located under the More icon > Download Report. This report will display all of the data collection information as it is completed by the plan sponsor including the Approval and Census Submission dates. In order to view each tab of the report, the user viewing the report must be listed as a Plan Contact on the Plan and have the appropriate website rights. For more information on adding website rights, please review Managing PlanSponsorLink Users.

 

 

General

The General sub-menu contains Address and Phone Number information that is entered and approved on the General step of a Data Collection on PlanSponsorLink. Changes made to the General sub-menu will appear on the Client  > Address and Number menu immediately.

 

Add – The user can add Addresses or Numbers on the General menu.  

 

Add an Address: 

  1. Click the Add icon to the right of the Addresses grid. 
  2. Click the Add icon next to Address to create a new address. 
    • The user can choose an existing address by selecting it from the Address dropdown menu. 
  3. Fill out the Address information and click Save. 
  4. Select an Address Type. 
  5. Click Save. 

Add a Number: 

  1. Click the Add icon to the right of the Numbers grid. 
  2. Click the Add icon next to Number to create a new number. 
    • The user can choose an existing number by selecting it from the Number dropdown menu. 
  3. Fill out the Number information and click Save. 
  4. Select a Number Type. 
  5. Click Save. 

 

Edit – Users can edit Address or Number information in the General sub-menu. To edit an address or number, click the Edit icon to the right of the address or number record.  

 

Delete – To Delete an address or number record, click the Delete icon to the right of the address or number record. Click Yes to confirm the deletion. 

 

Unlock – Clicking the More icon > Unlock button will re-open the General step on PlanSponsorLink for the plan sponsor to re-submit. 

 

 

Company

The Company sub-menu displays information about the Company that was either added by the user or by the Client as part of data collection.  The Company menu shows company details such as EIN, Entity Type, and NAIC Business Code for the current Plan Year.

 

Note: The system maintains records for each plan year. This can be found on the Client >Employer Data menu.

 

Unlock - Clicking the Unlock icon will re-open the Company step on PlanSponsorLink for the plan sponsor to re-submit. 

 

Edit – Clicking the Edit icon allows the user to make changes to company information such as fiscal year, EIN, or Entity Type. The user can make changes to the company information and click Save when complete. Changes made to the Company menu will appear on the Client > Employer Data record for the same period as the Plan Cycle and Data Collection. 

 

 

Principals

The Principals sub-menu displays information about the Principals of the company that was either added by the user or by the Client as part of data collection. 

 

Add – The user can add Principals for the company. 

 

Add a Principal: 

  1. Click the Add icon to the right of the Principal grid. 
  2. Enter the Principal’s information. 
  3. Click Save. 

 

Edit – The user can edit a Principal’s information by clicking the Edit icon to the right of a Principal record. The user can make changes to the record and click Save when complete. 

 

Delete – Users can click the Delete icon located to the right of a Principal record to delete the Principal. Click 'Yes' to confirm the deletion. 

 

Unlock – Clicking the More icon > Unlock button will re-open the Principals step on PlanSponsorLink for the plan sponsor to re-submit. 

 

 

Family

The Family sub-menu contains information about the Family members of the company that was either added by the user or by the Client as part of data collection. 

 

Add – Users can click the Add icon to the right of the Family grid to add family relationships data. 

 

Add a Family Relationship: 

  1. Click the Add icon to the right of the Family grid. 
  2. Enter the name of the family member. 
  3. Select a relationship from the Relationship dropdown menu. 
    • The Relationship entered should be the Family Member’s relationship to a Principal. 
    • Relationship is a List Value. To find more information on adding List Values, please refer to List Values. 
  4. Select a Principal from the Related To dropdown menu. 
    • For a Principal to be listed in the dropdown menu, they must be entered on the Data Collection > Principals menu. 
  5. Click Save. 

 

Edit – Clicking the Edit icon to the right of a Family Member record allows a user to make changes to an existing family member record. The user can make changes to the record and click Save when complete. 

 

Delete – Users can click the Delete icon located to the right of a Family Relationship record to delete the Family Member listed. Click Yes to confirm the deletion. 

 

Unlock - Clicking the More icon > Unlock button will re-open the Family step on PlanSponsorLink for the plan sponsor to re-submit. 

 

 

Business

This sub-menu displays information about related companies and the owners of the related companies that were either added by the user or by the Client as part of data collection. 

 

Add – Users can click the Add icon located to the right of the Businesses grid to add related businesses data. 

 

Add a Related Business: 

  1. Click the Add icon located to the right of the Businesses grid. 
  2. Enter the related business company information in the popup window. 
    • Other Business Legal Name, Entity Type, and Plan Sponsored status are required fields. 
  3. Click Save. 

 

Edit Other Business Owners: 

  1. Double-click the Related Business.
  2. Hover over the Business Owner record and click the Edit icon to the right of the record.
  3. Make the necessary edits. 
  4. Click Save. 

 

Delete Other Business Owners: 

  1. Double-click the Related Business.
  2. Click the Delete icon to the right of the record. 
  3. Click Yes to confirm the deletion of the Owner. 

 

Edit – Users can highlight a Related Business record and click the Edit icon to the right of the Businesses grid to make edits to that Related Business record. After clicking the Edit icon, make necessary edits and click Save. 

 

Delete – Users can highlight a Related Business record and click the Delete icon to the right of the Businesses grid to remove the Related Business record. After clicking the Delete icon, click Yes to confirm the deletion. 

 

Unlock – Clicking the More icon > Unlock button will re-open the Business step on PlanSponsorLink for the plan sponsor to re-submit. 

 

 

Contacts

This displays information about the contacts associated with the plan including their full name and any issues the Client noted for the contact as part of data collection.

 

Issues – When a plan sponsor completes the Contacts portion of Annual Data Collection on PlanSponsorLink, they view the Plan Contact Roles for the plan where the Show on PSL checkbox was marked. The plan sponsor views the following: 

 

  • Contact Name 
  • Email Address 
  • Address information 
  • Number information 
  • Plan Role(s) 
  • Website Right(s) for the Plan  

 

If the plan sponsor notices anything incorrect regarding the above information, they can add an Issue, highlighting the contact record and the problems with the information. Any issues the plan sponsor adds will appear in PensionPro on the Data Collection > Contacts sub-menu. The user can fix the information requested by the plan sponsor, Unlock the Contacts step and resend to the plan sponsor to verify, remove the Issue and re-submit. 

 

 

Plan

This sub-menu displays a set of questions and answers that the Client completes on the PlanSponsorLink website for the Data collection. These questions can be customized in the Plan Questionnaire section while editing a Data Collection Template before the Data Collection is launched.

 

Unlock - Clicking the More icon > Unlock button will re-open the Plan step on PlanSponsorLink for the plan sponsor to re-submit. 

 

 

5500

This sub-menu displays a set of questions and answers that the Client completes on the PlanSponsorLink website for the Year End Data collection. These questions can be customized in the 5500 Questionnaire section while editing a Data Collection Template before the Data Collection is launched.

 

Unlock – Clicking the More icon > Unlock button will re-open the Plan step on PlanSponsorLink for the plan sponsor to re-submit. 

 

 

Employees

The Employees sub-menu displays the Employee census that is displayed on the PlanSponsorLink website. The information displayed can be edited using the buttons displayed in the upper right corner of the screen. The data can also be exported and imported using Excel spreadsheets. Data field sets used are based on Plan Type and configured in Preferences > PensionPro > Collection Fields.

 

Errors and Warnings – If the Employee Census was uploaded with errors, an Errors and Warnings (red exclamation point) button will appear. Clicking this button will open the Participant Errors and/or Warnings popup for the user to review. The popup displays any warnings such as deferrals not being entered. The popup will also display any errors, indicating the participant record associated with the error and the reason for the error. Participant records with errors will appear in red text on the Data Collection > Employees grid in PensionPro. 

 

Unlock - Clicking the More icon > Unlock button will re-open the Employees group on PlanSponsorLink for the plan sponsor to re-submit. 

 

Add – Users can add individual participant records to the Employees grid by clicking the Add icon. The collection fields that appear in the slider are based on the Collection Fields for the Plan Type created in PensionPro Preferences. For more information on how to update Collection Fields, please review Collection Fields for Census Data. 

 

Add a Participant Record

  1. Click on the Add icon to the right of the Employees grid. 
  2. Enter the Employee’s information in the Add Employee popup. 
    • Required information is based on the Collection Field preferences for the Plan Type. 
  3. Click Save. 

 

Edit – Users can click once on a participant record and click the Edit icon to make edits to that participant record. Users can make the necessary changes to the participant in the Edit Employee popup and click Save when complete. 

 

Delete – Users can hover over an employee record to highlight and click the Delete icon to remove that record. After clicking the Delete icon, click Yes to confirm the deletion. Note: Once the information is deleted, it cannot be retrieved. 

 

Copy Employees from Another Plan – Users can copy Employee records from another plan if necessary rather than copying that information over manually. 

 

Copy Employees from Another Plan: 

  1. From the Data Collection > Employees sub-menu, click the More icon > Copy Employees. 
  2. A dropdown will appear to the left, select the Plan to copy employee records from. 
  3. Click Copy. 

 

Import – Users can import an Excel file containing employee information and upload that information at one time rather than entering each employee separately. 

 

Import Employees 

  1. Click the More icon > Import button to the right of the Employees grid. A file browser will open. 
  2. Select the Excel file containing census import information. 
  3. The census information will import and populate in the Employees grid. Any errors found in the template will appear in a popup for review. The imported census will overwrite any previously entered census data with the new import information. Any prior data cannot be retrieved after it has been overwritten. 
  • Note:  
    • A preformatted template can be exported by clicking the Export button from the Employees grid.  
    • The Excel file sheet containing the census data must be titled “Employees.”  
    • The column headers on the import template must exactly match the Collection Field Display. Names in PensionPro. If they do not, the values will not import for the intended Collection Field. 

 

Export – Users can click the Export button to export the current list of employees for the census. This allows the user to export the current data into an Excel file. 

 

Export Employees

  1. Click the Export button to the right of the Employees grid. A File Browser will open. 
  2. Choose a destination to save the census file and click Save. 

 

Delete all Items – Users can click the Delete All Employees button from the menu in the upper right corner of the grid to delete all employees in the Employees Grid. Note: Once the information is deleted, it cannot be retrieved. 

 

Delete all items

  1. Click the Delete All Employees button. 
  2. Click Yes to confirm Deletion. 

 

 

Approval

The Approval sub-menu is where users can track the completion of each step of Data Collection. As each step is completed, a date will appear in the Completed On column to the right of each Data Collection Step.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

  • My Data Collection isn't appearing for my plan sponsor on PlanSponsorLink.com. What is missing?
    First, make sure that Plan Contact has the necessary website rights to view the Data Collection on PlanSponsorLink. More information on Website Rights can be found at the top of this article. The next thing to check would be if the Request step of the Data Collection has been completed. If the Census Request Sent field on the Data Collection > Request sub-menu does not have a date completed, users can either click the Lock button to manually complete this step or they can send a Census Request Blast Email to the plan sponsor of this plan to complete the Census Request Sent step.

  • I removed the completion on the Employee Census and am in the Data Collection menu and in the Employee sub-menu, however, the import button does not show.
    The user will need to go to Maintenance > Preferences > PensionPro and then in the General menu, select Data Security from the drop-down menu. The Switch Lock Year-End Data Preference will need to be set to No and then the user can go back to the Employees sub-menu in the Data Collection menu of the Data Collection and the import button should appear.

  • If the Lock Year-End Data Preference is switched to No and then switched back to Yes, will plans that had their year-end data unlocked originally now have an issue with it being locked?
    If the option is set to No and then is switched to Yes, the plan sponsor can make changes as they work through data collection, but PensionPro users within the user’s firm cannot make changes to data collection once it's been started by the plan sponsor.

  • How can I import updated census data to fix the census my plan sponsor submitted?
    Click on the Employees menu. Users can click the Import button to import an updated Census spreadsheet. The newly imported template will overwrite any previously entered census data.

  • A client submitted incorrect information which is displayed on one of the Data Collection menus. How can I send this back to them to fix?
    There is an Unlock Data Collection (Unlock) button located in the upper right-hand corner of each grid. Click the Unlock button from the menu to unlock that portion of the Data Collection. The step will appear on the plan sponsor’s PlanSponsorLink My Active Tasks dashboard.

  • Am I notified when a client makes changes to Data Collection on PlanSponsorLink?
    When a client makes changes to the General, Company, Principals, Family, Business, or Contacts steps of Data Collection on PlanSponsorLink, users can view multiple indicators of these changes in PensionPro. On the Data Collection menu, users will see a yellow and orange triangle icon on the Data Collection step where they made changes. “Changed On Web” will also appear in red text above the grid when clicking on the sub-menu for General, Company, Principals, Family, Business, or Contacts steps of Data Collection.