The parameters of this topic are similar to the Status Code Mappings topic of Input | Census Specifications. This topic is also used to select a method for determining whether the pre-commencement or post-commencement mortality rates apply to each participant when Valuation Assumptions include an “Age by Pre/post-commencement” type of mortality table. The status code mappings determine each record’s status at the beginning and the end of each year. The actual experience for active decrements and inactive mortality can be determined by tracking changes in status (see the Technical Reference article Experience studies: active decrements and inactive mortality). The beginning-of-year statuses also determine whether active decrements apply or inactive mortality applies.

Status field indicates which database field contains the code identifying each record’s status as of each valuation date. Missing information is handled as follows:

• If a record’s status code is missing (blank) at either the beginning or the end of the year, the record is excluded (from exposure and decrements) for the year.

• If a record is omitted from the database, it is treated according to a “non-participating” end-of-year status for the year ending on the valuation date and is excluded for the year beginning on the valuation date. For example, if the study runs from 1/1/1996 to 1/1/2000 and John Doe’s record is missing from the 1/1/1998 database but his status as of each other date is “Active”, then he is included in the study for the years 1/1/1996 - 1/1/1997, 1/1/1997 – 1/1/1998, and 1/1/1999 – 1/1/2000, but he is excluded for the year 1/1/1998 to 1/1/1999.

The codes map the entry in your status field to the ProVal status, which, for an Experience Study, can be any one of thirteen types. The “Field Code” column contains the labels associated with your field in the Data Dictionary; the “ProVal Status” column contains the status type to be used when this label is encountered.

The mapping of a status field to ProVal status codes need not be one-to-one. Suppose that you have distinct labels in your data for three different types of active employees. All three of these labels could be assigned to the ProVal status “Active”.

ProVal can treat each record in one of thirteen different ways at each valuation date. Six of the options are the typical ProVal statuses used for Valuations and Core Projections: “Non-participating”, and the six participating statuses (“Active”, “Retired”, “Vested”, "Vested valued through active", “Disabled” and “Survivor”). The additional six options are statuses (“Death” and five “Cashed Out” statuses) that tell ProVal what happened to the record during the year preceding the valuation date and that its status for the next year is “Non-participating”. 

• Active participants are subject to all decrements: retirement, termination, death and disability.

• Vested valued through active participants are subject to the active decrements of retirement and death. 

• Retired, Vested, Disabled and Survivor participants are subject only to the mortality decrement. Each of these statuses may be subject to a different mortality table.

• Non-participating, Death, Retired & cashed out, Vested & cashed out, Vested valued through active & cashed out, Disabled & cashed out, and Survivor & cashed out represent records that are excluded from membership.

• “Death” identifies records of members (status can be active or inactive at the preceding valuation date) who have died, with no benefits payable in the year beginning on the valuation date. (The status “Survivor” indicates a death with benefits payable.)

• The “Cashed Out” statuses identify records of inactive members (status can be active or inactive at the preceding valuation date) who should not, because of reasons other than mortality, be included in exposure to mortality in the year beginning on the valuation date. Such situations include:

Example #1: An active member terminates and either receives a lump sum or has not met the vesting eligibility requirements. The status “Vested & cashed out” allows ProVal to establish that the person has terminated during the year but should not be included in the inactive count (or exposure to inactive mortality) at the beginning of the next year.

Example #2: A retiree collecting payments under a ten year certain and life annuity dies, and the survivor receives payments only for the remainder of the certain period. The status “Survivor & cashed out” allows ProVal to establish that the survivor has not died but should not be included in inactive exposure at the beginning of the next year (because the amount and period of benefit payments do not depend on life contingencies).

Example #3: Consider the situation of a decrement for which there is no plan benefit. An active member becomes disabled and collects no benefit from the plan (because the plan has no disability benefit and the member has not met the vesting eligibility requirements). The status “Disabled & cashed out” allows ProVal to establish that the life has become disabled during the year but should not be included in the inactive count at the beginning of the next year. (Note that if no end-of-year record is included for the disabled life, ProVal will treat the life as “Non-participating” and, as discussed below, presume that a termination has occurred.)

If, instead, this active member is eligible for, and therefore collects, a vested benefit, the status “Disabled” allows ProVal to establish that the life should be included in the count of inactive members at the beginning of the next year, and that a disablement, rather than a termination, has occurred. (Note that how you code the status may depend upon whether your valuation assumptions include disability rates. If there are no disability rates, and higher termination rates are assumed instead, then you may prefer to code the status as “Vested”.)

• “Non-participating” status at a valuation date (either coded as such or assigned for a missing record) tells ProVal that a record has decremented, but not by which cause. If the corresponding record at the preceding valuation date has a participating status, ProVal chooses a decrement so that the life may be counted among actual decrements for the year ending on the valuation date. (Records with “Non-participating” status at a valuation date are always excluded from the study for the year beginning on the valuation date.) ProVal will default to the following decrements:

Records with an active status at the preceding valuation date are considered still alive and not disabled, but no longer receiving benefits under the plan. The record is treated as terminating or retiring during the year, depending on eligibility for retirement. If the life has actually died or disabled, with no benefits payable, you must code the status as “Death” or ”Disabled & cashed out”, respectively, for the life to be counted as an actual decrement due to the correct cause. Eligibility is checked at the assumed date of decrement, as specified in the Decrements topic of the Valuation Assumptions under study.

Records with an inactive status at the preceding valuation date are considered no longer alive (no benefits payable), i.e., the record is treated as dying during the year. If the life has in fact survived, you must code a “Cashed out’ status, to omit the life from the count of actual deaths during the year.

If the mortality assumption you are studying includes a pre/post commencement mortality table, you must indicate how to determine whether pre-commencement or post-commencement mortality should be applied to a participant. When Status Code is selected, pre-commencement mortality will be used for participants mapped to Active, Vested, and Vested valued through active statuses and post-commencement mortality will be used for participants mapped to Retired, Disabled and Survivor statuses. If the option to use Payment form in Census Specifications is selected, ProVal will always reflect pre-commencement mortality for active and vested valued through active participants. However, for inactive participants, ProVal will check to see if a participant has any benefit in pay status; if so, ProVal will reflect post-commencement mortality. If no benefit is in pay status, ProVal will apply pre-commencement mortality.