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Active Data

This portion of the Census Specifications identifies the database fields that contain fundamental information for active participants. You must complete these parameters if the database field identifying status has any statuses mapped to ProVal’s active status under the Status Code Mappings topic, even if your database contains no records with a status mapped to ProVal’s active status.

Note that only those database fields that are unhidden in the current Project appear in the drop-down lists for selection for parameters described below.

Date of birth (or attained age) is the field used to determine the age of each active participant. As the description suggests, this parameter can specify either 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.

In all modes other than the German pension mode, Date of hire (or hire age) is used for a variety of purposes, including the re-creation of salary history and, generally, service-based table lookups. Typically, this field should contain the earliest service date (or the age at the earliest service date) to be used for any plan purpose, because most service calculations will not use a date prior to the date specified (or, if an age field is selected, implied) here. For example, participation and attribution cannot be measured from a date earlier than (or an age younger than) that indicated by this parameter. There are other parameters for specification of service to be used for eligibility, participation, attribution, benefit accrual, and so forth. Note that the date labeled “hire date” by the plan sponsor might not be the proper date to identify to ProVal as the hire date, particularly if there has been an acquisition and a new, rather than original, hire date has been furnished in the census data.

In the German pension mode, Date of hire (or hire age) generally is used as the starting point for the default service measurement anywhere service is used, such as for eligibility, attribution, benefit accrual, etc.. However, when the Teilwert Funding Age is earlier than the date of hire, then the service-based table lookups and Teilwert present value calculations will be based on the Teilwert Funding Age, rather than on the date of hire. Anywhere in ProVal that service is used, the user generally has the option to change the definition of the service used for that purpose. See Teilwert Parameters for more information.

Note that the field indicated here can be either date of hire or hire age but not a service amount.

If a date field is specified, ProVal will compute a rounded hire age based on that date and (in the absence of a specified database field or Service Definition used to calculate a service value for table service lookups) determine service for table lookups as the difference between rounded attained age and rounded hire age. (Effectively, ProVal assumes that the hire date is the valuation date nearest the birthday’s anniversary in the year of hire.)

If an age field is specified, ProVal will round the hire age before computing service for service-based table lookups.

Note that service as determined by this parameter is always a whole (not fractional) number.

In all modes other than OPEB mode, Hours specifies the numeric database field that indicates hours worked for each participant. This parameter is optional. If selected, the field must be provided for current and new entrant data.

Sex (or percent male) specifies the database field indicating sex. This may be a coded field, with codes for male and female, or a numeric field containing the fraction of males assumed for each record. In the latter case, the field should be a numeric field with a value 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 participant. Female specifies the entry in the sex field (if of coded type) that indicates a female participant.

Salary Definition allows selection of a Salary Definition from the list of definitions unhidden in the current Project or selection of the “<sum of multiple salary definitions>.” option, which indicates that the salary is defined as the sum of more than one Salary Definition. The button accesses the library to create and modify Salary Definitions. If you define the salary as the sum of multiple Salary Definitions, click the Parameters button to select which Salary Definitions to include in the sum. The Salary Definition(s) will be used as the default for spreading costs under an entry age liability method, for demographic output and as the default Salary Definition(s) for benefit calculation. Note: you must define a Salary even if the plan’s benefit formula(s) are not based on salary (e.g., the benefit amount is $10 per month for each year of service).

The Schedule of Active Participant Data (age/service scatter) provides a count of active plan participants grouped by age and service as of the valuation date and can be viewed from either the Execute menu (click the View button of the executed Valuation library entry) or the Output menu (under the Valuation Set Exhibits command). For details, see Exhibits: Schedule of Active Participant Data. Its parameters are described in a separate section at the end of this article.

Except for the German pension mode, there is one more parameter pertaining to active data. A check in the For spouse age difference use spouse date of birth (or attained age) box indicates that spouse age differences are to be valued based on a database field containing the spouse’s date of birth or the age of the spouse on the valuation date. Select from the list of numeric and date fields unhidden in the current Project. If the database contains a field for the spouse date of birth (or attained age) but this field has a missing (i.e., blank) value for a given record, then the value specified by a Data Default, if any has been defined for this field, will be used. If the field value is blank and a Data Default does not exist for this field, then the age difference between an active plan member and his/her spouse will be determined by the settings for the Number of years husbands are older than wives parameter of the Other Valuation Parameters topic of Valuation Assumptions (see the discussion in the Marital Assumptions section of the article), for which the Constant option (not the Table option) must be selected. Note that the setting of the For spouse age difference use spouse date of birth (or attained age) parameter has no impact on the fraction of the active population assumed married, which is determined by the “fraction married” parameters of the Other Valuation Parameters topic, regardless of whether the spouse age difference assumption is determined by actual spouse data (instead of an assumed age difference between husbands and wives).

In German mode, users can check the Use Individual Method if date of birth available box to apply the Individual Method to every member with spouse data in the database field specified under Date of birth (or attained age). The Individual Method will not be applied to records with a blank value in that database field, even if the box is checked. For all members to whom the Individual Method does apply, ProVal will perform the following modifications:

When evaluating lump sum factors and optional payment form conversion factors under the Individual Method, spouse mortality (if applicable) will start at the decrement age. Primary annuitant mortality will be used from decrement age to member death age and contingent annuitant mortality will be used after. At member death age, the same blend of retiree and beneficiary mortality shown in the preceding paragraph will be used. The only exception is when evaluating the optional form conversion factors for an active death benefit, in which case spouse mortality will start in the year after member death and no spouse mortality will be applied in the year of member death.

In German mode, to apply a Divorce Offset, specify up to two database fields holding the Primary benefit (e.g., annuity) and Secondary benefit (e.g., lump sum) divorce offset amounts assuming the member retires at Normal Retirement Age. In benefit definitions, specify which of these two offsets should apply, if any.  If applied, ProVal will adjust the benefit for ages other than normal retirement age by the fraction Gross benefit at retirement age / Gross benefit if retirement age = NRA and subtract this amount from the projected benefit. Note that for Project Unit Credit and Pure Unit Credit methods, the divorce offset is assumed to be fully accrued and therefore is subtracted after attribution is applied.

Schedule of Active Participant Data

First specify how to “bucket” active participants in the service categories of the scatter chart, i.e., what Credited service is based on; this may be either a database Field or a Service Definition. Select the desired field from among the numeric and date fields unhidden in the current Project or, if you need rounding (e.g., completed years) or caps, select from the library of Service Definitions. The button accesses the library to create and modify Service Definitions.

There is Additional information to include, depending on the ProVal mode of operation.

In modes other than U.S. qualified pension, if you check the Include average salary box, ProVal will compute and display, for each age/service bucket in the scatter chart, the average current salary (according to the Salary Definition) for active participants included in that bucket. In the U.S. public pension mode, the salaries displayed will be limited to the U.S. Internal Revenue Code section 401(a)(17) maximum compensation amount (regardless of your selection for the maximum compensation limit parameter under the Liability Methods topic of funding Valuation Assumptions).

In the U.S. qualified pension mode, if you check the Average annual box, you must select either Salary or Accrued benefit. (The latter option is useful for showing accrued benefits, instead of salaries, for a plan in which accruals have been “frozen”.)

In the U.S. qualified pension mode, you may check the Average cash balance account box to have ProVal compute and display, for each age/service bucket in the scatter chart, the average amount in the cash balance accounts of active participants included in that bucket. Indicate the numeric database field that contains the value of the participant’s cash balance account as of the Valuation Date. Select from the list of fields unhidden in the current Project. Note that if you wish to suppress display of average cash balance account values in the IRS variant of the Schedule of Active Participant Data (as, for example, if the number of active members is low enough to make this display optional), you must uncheck this box.