Employee Deduction Arrears

Use Employee Deduction Arrears to hold a deduction in arrears whenever an employee's wages are not enough to cover a benefit deduction. This holds the deduction in arrears until the next pay period when the employee is paid. The system then attempts to take the deduction again. If the wages are still not able to cover the deduction, the deduction amount accumulates as long as it is scheduled to be taken. The benefits billing for that period is also sent to Deduction Arrears. Only benefit deductions are sent to Arrears.

Note:  You can only use this form to change existing arrears record information, not create new records. The system creates Employee Deduction Arrears records during payroll batch processing.

An arrears record only exists if a deduction is held in arrears for that employee. You can adjust this record by changing the deduction amount or forgiving a deduction by deleting a line item. It is not possible to add a deduction to this form. Once the deduction from arrears is applied to a paycheck, the arrears record becomes unavailable for viewing.

In addition, you can:

• Initialize outstanding amounts for employees by creating one or more one-time deduction records.
• Update an existing record by adjusting the arrears amount on a line or deleting the entire line.

Note:  Make sure the benefit deduction is properly reconciled before clicking Delete as the deduction cannot be restored.

To access this form and change employee arrears:

1. Click Payroll|Payroll Change| Employee Deduction Arrears. The form displays with the Employee field link.
2. Specify Employee information by:
• Entering the Employee name, ID, or Social Security number.
• Clicking the Employee link or pressing Ctrl+Enter in the search field to open the search selector. If the employee has a history of arrears, the system displays this information.
3. You have these options:
• Edit Arrears - Click the Arrears Date link in the table of arrears entries. This opens the Employee Deduction Arrears Detail modal.

You can change:

• Amount of the arrears
• Benefit Plan ID
• Arrears Status - Select Optional or Automatic from the drop-down. The drop-down only appears if arrears on the Group Benefit Plan is set to 'Suppress All Arrears, Track Optional Arrears Only'. If it is not set, this field is display-only. The Arrears Status field remains hidden until the feature code is entered at the system level.

Click Save to commit your changes and return to the main screen with your changes displayed.

Click Delete to delete an arrears record. Clicking Delete displays a warning message stating, This arrears record will be deleted immediately. Do you want to continue?

• Click Yes to delete the record and the data for that record will no longer display on the main Employee Deduction Arrears form.
• Click No to close the warning message and return on the Employee Deduction Arrears Detail modal form with all the previously entered data.

Click Close to close the modal form and return on the main Employee Deduction Arrears form. Any unsaved changes will be lost.

• Change Status - Changes the status of a record from Optional to Automatic. You can select multiple records to perform a bulk status change on these items. The system displays a message saying the Arrears Status can only be changed from Optional to Automatic, and that changing the automatic status to optional must occur on the Employee Deduction Arrears Detail form. Click OK. You can make a change using the Change Status button to save the change immediately without needing to click Save on the form.

Note:  The Change Status button remains hidden until the USEWEEKLYBENEFITS feature code is entered at the system level.

• Convert to Adjustment - For single records, click the check box next to the arrears entry you want to convert, then click the Convert to Adjustment button. A modal form displays with Benefit Plan and Arrears Balance pre-populated. Additionally, a static text message displays, This action will divide the arrears balance by the number of cycles indicated below to create benefit adjustments. Please note that rounding may cause slight discrepancies and additional adjustments may be needed. The arrears balance will be removed.

On the modal form, enter a date in the Start Date field and provide a value in the Adjustment Cycles field. Click Create. A confirmation pop-up indicating that the system creates an adjustment displays, Your change has caused the system to create billing adjustments. Would you like to review?

• Click Yes to open the Benefit Adjustments modal form where you can review the newly created benefit adjustment and make changed if necessary.
• Click No to close the confirmation pop-up window.
• Delete - For single or multiple records, click the check box next to the arrears entry you want to delete, then click the Delete button at the end of the page. The system asks you to confirm whether you want to delete the selected records. Click Yes to commit the deletion.

Note:  The Delete, Change Status, and Convert to Adjustment buttons are disabled until at least one arrears item check box is selected.

• Cancel - Clears the form at any time.