Benefit - Payroll Integration

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1 Applies to: Enter SAP technology or product release (release number, SP, etc.) to which this article or code sample applies. For more information, visit the Enterprise Resource Planning homepage. Summary SAP s Benefit module (BN) has functionality to handle US Benefits and its integration with US Payroll (PY) component. Benefit Administration in SAP enables us to enroll employees in benefit plans, terminate enrollment, monitor continuing eligibility for plans, monitor provisions for Evidence of Insurability, view information about current benefit enrollments, print enrollment and confirmation forms, transfer data electronically to 3 rd party plan providers and administer retire plans. SAP Benefit module is tightly integrated with Payroll. This integration enables benefit deductions and contributions to be processed by SAP payroll each time it is run. We can customize how the SAP system should process benefits for employees hired in the middle of the pay period and the system also allows predeductions. The objective of this white paper is to explain how exactly the integration between the BN and PY modules works in SAP HR. The target audience would be SAP end users and SAP consultants. Author: Vishal Dusad Company: Deloitte Consulting LLP Created on: 01 June, 2011 Author Bio Vishal has been in the field of SAP HR consulting for over 9 years now. He has worked on both global as well as domestic India implementations. The areas that he had handled include Personnel Administration, Organizational Management, Concurrent Employment, Management of Global Employees, ESS, MSS, Benefits, Training and Event Management. In addition to this he has also done support for Payroll and Time modules SAP AG 1

2 Table of Contents Basic Concept... 3 Setting Deduction Rules in the Benefits Module... 4 Health Plans... 4 Insurance Plans... 4 Savings Plans... 4 Flexible Spending Plans... 4 Calculating the Deduction Amounts in the Payroll Module... 5 Health and Insurance Plans... 7 Savings Plans... 7 Spending Plans... 7 Related Content... 8 Disclaimer and Liability Notice SAP AG 2

3 Basic Concept SAP Benefit module offers the following different types of Benefit Plans: Health Plans Insurance Plans Savings Plans Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Plans Miscellaneous Plans For each of the above mentioned plan types we define attributes such as Pre-tax allowed and Post-tax allowed under Define General Data node in SPRO. We create cost variants and cost rules. Fig 1.1 Depending on what attributes are defined and what costs are entered in the cost rule for each plan, the system asks for wage types to be entered under Benefit Integration ->Enter wage type for plan node in SPRO. In benefits, cost information is presented in terms of expected or estimated amounts. A complex set of factors come into play during payroll processing that can cause the actual deductions to be different. This article examines the integration between payroll and benefits so that you can explain to your end users why this happens. In R/3, fields that are calculated, such as the amount of a benefit deduction, are not stored directly in the database. Rather, the underlying data required to make the calculation is stored and the amount is calculated in real time as needed. This allows R/3 to calculate the correct deduction even when some related data has been changed, but it can sometimes lead to perplexing results. You will understand which part of a deduction calculation happens in benefits and which part happens in payroll. The information presented in this article is based on U.S. Payroll, but many of the concepts are relevant in all countries SAP AG 3

4 Setting Deduction Rules in the Benefits Module The benefits functional analyst enters coverage, cost, or contribution rules for each benefit plan. The configuration of these rules is based on benefit cost sheets produced in the corporate benefits office. These rules are executed in combination with employee demographic data each time a benefit deduction amount is needed. Several factors affect the calculation: The configuration of benefits plans. The benefits department sets forth specific employee and employer cost figures for each plan and option. These amounts are contained in the cost, coverage, and contribution rules in the IMG. The rules have begin and end dates, allowing for changes over time. The configuration is done in several steps under IMG menu path Personnel Management>Benefits Administration>Plans. The employee s current master data. Master data records hold the employee s elected coverage plans and options. These records also have begin and end dates. They are created in benefits enrollment transactions, through Employee Self-Service, or manually via transaction code PA30. The evaluation date. Since each of the previous items changes over time, you must specify an evaluation date when calculating the cost of a benefit plan. This date is used to identify the employee s election and then determine the cost. Any data required to make the calculation, such as the employee s age, is determined on the evaluation date. In the enrollment transaction, the evaluation date is called the Enroll On date, and on the infotype screens it is called the Calculation Date. The master data and the configuration rules are both accessed using the evaluation date to determine the deduction amount. Transactions in the benefits module and benefits infotypes in the personnel administration module all display benefits plan cost information. Health, insurance, and credit plans display an estimated deduction amount. Savings and spending plans, however, display the elected percentage or goal amount because the deduction amount is dependent upon actual payroll results. Deduction amounts displayed within the benefits transactions are estimates only. Actual deductions in payroll vary based on actual earnings and deduction rules. These basic factors apply to all benefits plans. However, there are some differences in the way that deduction amounts are calculated for each plan category. Health Plans The cost of health plans is calculated based on the plan, option, and dependent coverage level selected by the employee. These values from the master data are compared to the configuration for the plan to calculate the employee and employer cost amounts. Additional factors can be salary, age, seniority, cost grouping, gender, and tobacco usage. Insurance Plans A two-step process determines the cost of an insurance plan. The first step is to determine the dollar amount of coverage offered by the plan. The insurance option from the master data is compared to the coverage rules configured for the plan in order to calculate a coverage amount. Data used in the formula can include salary, age, seniority, and coverage grouping. The second step is to apply a cost calculation rule to the coverage amount. In this step, the employee and employer costs are determined. Indicative data can include salary, age, seniority, cost grouping, gender, and tobacco usage. Savings Plans Unlike health and insurance plans, the amount of a savings plan contribution cannot be calculated outside of payroll. This is because the amount of a savings plan deduction is dependent on qualified earnings. Salary, age, seniority, and contribution grouping can be used in the contribution rules. Flexible Spending Plans Flexible spending plans differ from other types of benefits because the employee elects an annual contribution goal rather than a per-pay-period amount. R/3 calculates a deduction amount each pay period 2011 SAP AG 4

5 that allows the employee to reach the goal as evenly as possible by year s end. Confirmation letters and enrollment forms display the annual goal because the per-period amount can vary. Calculating the Deduction Amounts in the Payroll Module When actual deductions are calculated as part of payroll, it gets more complicated. The configuration and master data are still key parts of the formula, but additional factors can affect the benefit deduction amounts. Every pay period has a begin date, an end date, and a check date. The determination of applicable master data is based on one or more of these dates. Each plan category may use a different date selection. Other factors that can affect deduction amounts in payroll are the employee s qualified earnings, available net pay, and prior contributions. The integration point between payroll and benefits is contained in two schemas, named UBE1 and UBE2 in the default configuration (Figures 1 and 2). These may have been replaced by local versions in your system SAP AG 5

6 Within these schemas, payroll functions are called to process each plan category. The function P0167, for example, is called for health plans. These functions each accept one argument, called DATES, to determine the evaluation date of infotypes. The possible values are defined in the following table. Parameter BEG END BEGT FRST LAST CHK PER Meaning Infotype records are evaluated on the payroll period begin date. No changes within the current payroll period are taken into consideration. No proration of costs takes place, even if the record ends within the current payroll period. Infotype records are evaluated on the payroll period end date. No changes within the current payroll period are taken into consideration. No proration of costs takes place, even if the record begins within the current payroll period. This value functions in the same way as BEG, except in the case of pre-deduction of costs for an employee leaving the company. In this case, the amount calculated for the last payroll period coinciding with the infotype validity period is prorated according to the number of calendar days on which the record is valid in this last payroll period. For more information on how this value affects pre-deduction, see the SAP Library (Human Resources>Personnel Management> Benefits>Case Studies>Pre-deduction). Infotype records are evaluated if there is any intersection of plan infotype and payroll period. The first intersection is taken to determine the full period deduction amount that is stored without proration. Infotype records are evaluated if there is any intersection of plan infotype and payroll period. The last intersection is taken to determine the full period deduction amount that is stored without proration. Infotype records are evaluated on the payroll check date (the pay date), regardless of whether the check date falls into the payroll period itself. A record whose validity starts after the end date of the current payroll period is still evaluated if the check date (which lies in the future) falls within the validity period of the infotype. Infotype records are evaluated on the basis of calendar days. Proration of costs only takes place if the record is split within the processed period. A change in costs due to a change in the age or length of service group, for example, is taken into account only if the infotype is split on the date of the change. Every infotype record that falls into the current payroll period is evaluated on the begin date of the payroll period or the record (whichever is later) and then prorated according to the number of calendar days on which the record is valid in the payroll period. The payroll functions select master data first. Using the DATES parameter (Par1 in Figures 1 and 2), the function determines which master data records are used to calculate a deduction. All parameters other than PER select only one master data record per plan type. The PER parameter selects all records that are valid in the pay period. Once a master data record is selected, the payroll function determines the evaluation date. The cost of a plan is always calculated on a particular date. When the DATES parameter has a value of BEG, BEGT, END, or CHK, the evaluation date is the pay period begin date, end date, or check date, respectively. When the DATES parameter has a value of FRST, LAST, or PER, the evaluation date is the infotype record begin date or the pay period begin date, whichever is later. The payroll function then calls a benefits function to determine the desired deduction amount. The evaluation date, along with other information from the current pay period, is passed to the benefits cost function. A different cost function exists for each plan category. Each works slightly differently SAP AG 6

7 Health and Insurance Plans The desired deduction amount for health and insurance plans is calculated by using the benefit plan record and the evaluation date. The benefits cost function determines any other required demographic data, such as age or salary on the evaluation date. For these plan categories, the desired cost calculated in payroll is always the same as the cost displayed on the infotype. Display the cost tab on the infotype record using the same evaluation date when investigating a health or insurance plan deduction. Savings Plans Savings plan contributions are often a factor of qualified earnings. Earlier steps in the payroll process calculate the qualified earnings and store them in a wage type called the technical base wage type. The standard technical base wage type for savings plans is /102. All earnings (wage types) that qualify for the savings plan are configured to accumulate to the /102 wage type in gross payroll processing. The P0169 function in payroll passes the technical base wage type amount to the benefits cost function. This information is combined with the benefit plan and configuration valid on the evaluation date to arrive at a desired deduction amount and employer contribution. Unexpected savings plan deduction amounts are often caused by variations in qualified earnings. Examine wage type /102 on the final RT table when investigating a savings plan deduction. Spending Plans The desired deduction amount for spending plans is dependent on the annual goal and prior contributions. A table in Payroll called BENTAB tracks year-to-date contributions and claims for spending plans. The payroll and benefits integration function for spending plans uses this table and the related master data to determine a contribution amount. The calculation is: Current deduction = (annual goal from infotype 170 YTD contributions from BENTAB) / number of remaining deduction periods in year. When an employee elects an annual goal at the beginning of the year and makes full contributions each pay period, the deduction remains constant. When employees change their annual goal partway through the year or get behind on contributions, the per-period amount is adjusted. Each pay period, R/3 determines how much of the goal has yet to be paid and spreads that amount evenly over the remaining periods. This selfadjusting nature of spending plan deductions is often a source of confusion. Look at table BENTAB in the payroll results when investigating a spending plan deduction. It is most common for payroll function P0170 to be called using DATES parameter value CHK. This is consistent with the fact that pay periods are assigned to tax years based on check date and annual spending plan elections are distributed across the deduction periods of the year SAP AG 7

8 Related Content For more information, visit the Enterprise Resource Planning homepage SAP AG 8

9 Disclaimer and Liability Notice This document may discuss sample coding or other information that does not include SAP official interfaces and therefore is not supported by SAP. Changes made based on this information are not supported and can be overwritten during an upgrade. SAP will not be held liable for any damages caused by using or misusing the information, code or methods suggested in this document, and anyone using these methods does so at his/her own risk. SAP offers no guarantees and assumes no responsibility or liability of any type with respect to the content of this technical article or code sample, including any liability resulting from incompatibility between the content within this document and the materials and services offered by SAP. You agree that you will not hold, or seek to hold, SAP responsible or liable with respect to the content of this document SAP AG 9