This topic of the Census Specifications identifies the database fields that contain fundamental information for German terminated vested participants and is available only in the German pension mode. You must complete these parameters if the database field identifying status has any statuses mapped to ProVal’s terminated vested status under the Status Code Mappings topic (even if your database contains no records with a status mapped to ProVal’s terminated vested status).

Date of birth (or attained age) is the field used to determine the age of each terminated vested 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 rate 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 hire (or hire age) is used for a variety of purposes, including 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.

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.

Date of termination (or termination age) is used to determine the point at which to freeze service for accrual definitions for which service is not projected and to determine the numerator of the legal vesting (prorata temporis) fraction where such fraction is applied. It is also used as the age at which to freeze the accrual basis for terminated vested participants.

The field indicated here can specify either a date field or a numeric field containing age on the termination date.

Sex (or percent male) specifies the database field indicating gender / 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 at Termination indicates the database field containing the salary, at termination, for each terminated vested participant. Salary at termination will be used in all Salary Definitions and custom operators that reference valuation salary. Note that this salary will be used as is for all years and not projected forward or backward or impacted by historical salaries. Those custom operators that reference alternative Salary Definitions will interpret the most recent salary field specified in the Salary Definition (either “current salary” or first “historical salary”) as the salary at termination (rather than the Salary at Termination specified here), again used with no projection forward or backward.

If normalizing benefits using #NormtoNRB operators, input the Primary benefit (e.g., annuity). This is a parameter indicating the database field containing a known benefit at normal retirement date for terminated vested participants. The #NormToNRB operator (when used in a Benefit formula with an omitted left parameter or a left parameter of 1) will use the value entered for this parameter to normalize the formulaically calculated benefit for each terminated vested participant. If “<none>” is specified, no normalizing of the calculated benefits will be done (i.e., #NormToNRB will do nothing). Please note that for active participants (or terminated vested participants missing this data item), the #NormToNRB operator will have no impact (i.e., will return its argument). Identical logic applies to the Secondary benefit (e.g., lump sum). The #NormToNRB operator (when used in a Benefit formula with a left parameter of 2) will use the value entered for this parameter to normalize the formulaically calculated benefit for each terminated vested participant. The same rules apply if "<none>" is specified or the operator is used on active participants.

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:

• The spouse age difference will be determined from the spouse date of birth in the data.
• The percent married will be set to 100%.
• Spouse mortality will begin from the initial valuation date.
• Spouse mortality will be based on the retiree mortality table before member death age and on the beneficiary mortality table after member death age.   

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.