The parameters of this dialog box describe the database fields involved in the valuation of benefits for inactive participants (members) and their spouses. You must complete these parameters if the database field identifying status has any statuses mapped to ProVal’s inactive statuses under the Status Code Mappings topic, even if your database contains no records with a status mapped to a ProVal inactive status.

In the OPEB mode, benefits for inactive records are calculated according to the Plan Definition; they are not determined in the Census Specifications (as they are in the pension modes). Furthermore, the OPEB mode includes in the Census Specifications special default parameters (not found in the pension modes) for benefits payable to covered spouses of inactive members.

Parameters applicable to Members:

Date of birth (or attained age) is the field used to determine, for each inactive record, the age of the primary annuitant (generally, the member, but may be the spouse if spouse data is contained on a separate record from member data). As the description suggests, this parameter can specify a date field or a numeric field containing age on the valuation date.

If a date field is specified, ProVal will compute, based upon that date, an exact attained age for determining benefit eligibility and a rounded attained age for age-based table lookups (benefit component tables and reference tables).

If an age field is specified, ProVal will round the attained age for age-based table lookups.

Note that age for table lookups is always a whole (not fractional) number.

Date of decrement (or decrement age) is the field that indicates, for each inactive record, when the decrement from active status actually occurred. This field must be included on the database if:

• There is an inactive benefit paid under a deferred or temporary payment form with a deferred or temporary period, respectively, that ends after a specified number of years has elapsed. ProVal uses this field to determine the date the deferral period begins for deferred benefits or the date payments begin for a temporary benefit that is not deferred.

• Inactive benefit formulas use the #DECAGE, #DECPTS, or #DECYEAR operators.

This date must be no later than the valuation date.

Service at decrement is a numeric field that indicates, for each inactive record, the member’s total service while active. This field must be included on the database if:

• Inactive benefit formulas use the #DECSVC or #DECPTS operators.

• Inactive benefit formulas refer to table components that reference tables with a service dimension.

Sex (or percent male) specifies the database field indicating the sex of the primary annuitant (generally the member, but may be the spouse if spouse data is contained on a separate record from member data). This may be a coded field, with codes for male and female, or a numeric field containing the fraction of the record assumed to represent male members. In the latter case, the field must contain a number between 0 (all female) and 1 (all male), inclusive. The most common use for a percent male field is with grouped data. Note that ProVal’s Group Data utility will create this field and call it PctMale.

Male specifies the entry in the sex field (if of coded type) that indicates a male member. Female specifies the entry in the sex field (if of coded type) that indicates a female member.

 

Parameters applicable to Covered Spouses:

Checking there are covered spouses indicates that spouse benefits are to be valued (as well as member values) for this record and “turns on” the other parameters in the spouse section of the dialog box. Thus member data appears in the member fields and spouse data in the spouse fields. Note: If instead, perhaps for the record of a spouse of a member who has died, you have spouse data in the member fields (and no member information on the record), then benefits for the spouse will have to be coded as member benefits and any member/spouse breakdown of output values would categorize spouses as members.

Coverage code (or fraction covered) asks for the coded field indicating whether the inactive record has a spouse covered for benefits under the plan or, alternatively, for the numeric field indicating the fraction of the record assumed to have a covered spouse. If the fraction covered, rather than a coverage code, is provided in the data, then the field must contain a number between 0 (the record does not, or all lives represented by the record do not, have a covered spouse) and 1 (the record has, or all lives represented by the record have, a covered spouse), inclusive. If the database does not contain a field for the coverage code or fraction covered (in which case “<not on file>” should be selected), then the default value indicated at the bottom of the dialog box will be used. If the database contains a field for the coverage code or fraction covered but this field has a missing (i.e., blank) value for a given record, then the default value will be used as the appropriate weight (from 0 to 1) to apply to the liability for spouse benefits but will not be used to replace a missing value if the field is referenced in any user-defined item, such as a Benefit Formula Component varying by coded field. To replace a missing value for such computations and thereby avoid exclusion of the record from processing, you must create a Data Default.

Note that a record with a missing value for any data field referenced only by Benefit Definitions with a Payment Form that is payable to the spouse (for example, the field containing the spouse contribution rate for medical coverage) will be excluded from processing even if the record’s data indicates that it does not have a covered spouse. (ProVal can determine at the time of execution, but not at the time of validation, whether it actually needs the field that contains a missing value.) To avoid exclusion in this situation also, you must create a Data Default.

If you specify a coverage code field indicating whether the record has spouse coverage, then the codes with spouse coverage box will list the labels that you entered in the Data Dictionary for the codes of that field. Put a check mark next to each label that represents spouse coverage. The fraction covered will be either 1, for records with these labels, or 0, for other records.

Date of birth (or attained age) is the field used to determine, for each member inactive record, the age of the contingent annuitant (the spouse of the member). As the description suggests, this parameter can specify a date field or a numeric field containing age on the valuation date.

If a date field is specified, ProVal will compute, based upon that date, an exact attained age for determining benefit eligibility and a rounded attained age for age-based table lookups (benefit component tables and reference tables).

If an age field is specified, ProVal will round the attained age for age-based table lookups.

Note that age for table lookups is always a whole (not fractional) number.

If the database does not contain a field for the spouse date of birth (in which case “<not on file>” should be selected), then the default value indicated at the bottom of the dialog box will be used. If the database contains a field for the spouse date of birth but this field has a missing (i.e., blank) value for a given record, then the default value will be used to determine the appropriate mortality rates for the spouse but will not be used to replace a missing value if the field is referenced in any user-defined item, such as the Formula of the Gross Benefit Definition. To replace a missing value for such computations and thereby avoid exclusion of the record from processing, you must create a Data Default.

Sex (or percent male) specifies the database field indicating the sex of the contingent annuitant (the spouse of the member). This may be a coded field, with codes for male and female, or a numeric field containing the fraction of the record assumed to represent male spouses. In the latter case, the field must contain a number between 0 (all female) and 1 (all male), inclusive. The most common use for a percent male field is with grouped data. Note that ProVal’s Group Data utility will create this field and call it CAPctMale.

Male specifies the entry in the sex field (if of coded type) that indicates a male spouse. Female specifies the entry in the sex field (if of coded type) that indicates a female spouse.

If the database does not contain a field for the spouse’s sex (in which case “<not on file>” should be selected), then the default value indicated at the bottom of the dialog box, opposite of the member’s sex, will be used. If the database contains a field for the spouse’s sex but this field has a missing (i.e., blank) value for a given record, then the spouse’s sex is, likewise, assumed to be the opposite of the member’s sex when ProVal selects the appropriate mortality rates for the spouse, but this default value will not be used to replace a missing value if the field is referenced in any user-defined item, such as the Formula of the Gross Benefit Definition. To replace a missing value for such computations and thereby avoid exclusion of the record from processing, you must create a Data Default.

Default values (used if data is missing or not on file) indicates, as mentioned in the preceding discussions, the marital assumptions to be used for all inactive records when no database field is specified (i.e., “<not in file>” has been selected) for the spouse coverage code (or fraction covered) parameter, the spouse date of birth (or attained age) parameter and/or the spouse sex (or percent male) parameter. When a database field is specified but the field value is missing, then ProVal uses these default values for some purposes but not others. In particular, the default value for fraction covered will be used to select the appropriate weight (from 0 to 1) to apply to the liability for spouse benefits, and the default values for spouse age and spouse sex will be used to select the appropriate mortality rates for the spouse, but these default values will not replace missing values for the field(s) if referenced by a user-defined item (such as the Formula of the Gross Benefit Definition). To replace a missing value for such computations and thereby avoid exclusion of the record from processing, you must create a Data Default.

The parameters for default values are text fields in which you may enter the fraction of each record assumed to have spouse coverage and the assumed age difference between husband and wife.

Enter the fraction covered as a number between 0 (no record has a covered spouse) and 1 (all records have a covered spouse), inclusive.

Enter the number of years husbands are older than wives separately for male members and female members. For example, if females are assumed to be three years younger than males (regardless of who is the member), then enter 3 for male members and 3 for female members (not –3). Note that an integer value is required.

Note that the default value for the spouse’s sex is the opposite of the member’s sex.