Update benefit rates and creating a new open enrollment

Objectives:

Learn how the key steps to update rates and create new open enrollments within the benefits section of AllPay, the comprehensive HR and payroll solution from AllianceHCM. These steps will help you prepare for and execute the open enrollment process for your company.

What's in this article?

Directions for how to update rates and create a new benefit open enrollment. All of these steps are key for creating an open enrollment for your company's enrollment period.

💡Good to know: This guide is intended for AllianceHCM clients who manage benefits through AllPay. Remember not to delete any information (such as old or current rates) out of AllPay when you're updating rates for a new year.

We have on-demand trainings about benefits as a part of the AllianceHCM Basic Courses, which you can view and watch here. You can also reach out to your Benefits Coach or email benefits@alliancehcm.com for more help.

AllianceHCM tips: Keep an eye out for tips from our experts!

Update rates for existing plans

1. Sign into AllPay. From the dashboard, select Configuration from your left menu.
2. Once in the Configuration module, hover to open the Benefits menu from the top and select Benefit Plans.
3. Select a plan and then click on Edit Tiers for this Plan, which is under the Plan Details section.
4. Scroll to the Payroll Setup section and click on the Copy and Paste buttons for each tier Employee Only (EO), Employee + Spouse (ES), Employee + Child (EC), Employee + Family (EF). This will create a new line item in the Payroll Setup for you to edit.
5. Update the new Payroll Setup line item's Start Date to reflect when the first payroll deduction should be taken using the new rates.
   AllianceHCM tip: Use the first of the month corresponding to the plan year OR a specific date if previous rates apply for the first check after the plan year begins.
6. Update the Rate fields for both the employee (deduction) and employer (earning).
   Note: These should be monthly premiums with an output type of "per payroll."
7. Click Save and repeat the process for each tier and each benefit plan that requires an updated rate.

From the Configuration module, select Benefit Plans from the Benefits menu

Select a plan and click on Edit Tiers for this Plan

Use the Payroll Setup section to modify the dates and rates by clicking Copy then Paste

Edit the Start Date and Rates

Click on Save

Update rates for FSA/HSA plans with increased limits

1. Sign into AllPay. From the dashboard, select Configuration from your left menu.
2. Once in the Configuration module, hover to open the Benefits menu from the top and select Coverage Amount Policies.
3. Click on the Add New button. In the Coverage Policy Detail section, add the plan name/year in the Policy Name field. Add the Minimum Coverage and Maximum Coverage information in the respective fields for new plan year.
   AllianceHCM tip: You can find the previous plan year and copy the script to the new plan and then update it using the new IRS contribution accounts. Ensure the same boxes are checked that were checked for the previous plan year.
4. Click Save.
5. Click over to the Benefits Plan tab, and then highlight the plan with the new limits and click on Edit Tiers for this Plan.
6. In the Payroll Setup section, use the Copy and Paste buttons to add a new payroll setup.
7. Update the date and change the Coverage Policy to the new coverage policy setup.
8. Scroll down to the Enrollment section and update the plan maximums in the Tag Line for the employees to see and then click Save.

From the Configuration module, select Coverage Amounts Policies from the Benefits menu

Click on Add New

Update fields and then Save

Click on the Benefits Plan tab

On the Benefits Plan tab, select the plan and click on Edit Tiers for this Plan

In the Payroll Setup section, use the Copy and Paste buttons to add a new payroll setup

Update the Tag Line in the Enrollment Section and then click Save

Create a new benefit open enrollment

1. Sign into AllPay. From the dashboard, select Configuration from your left menu.
2. Once in the Configuration module, hover to open the Benefits menu from the top and select Enrollment Setup. This takes you to the Benefit Enrollment Setup view.
3. Within the Benefit Enrollment Setup view, find your current plan's New Hire Enrollment. Click on it to select it (the row will turn yellow) and then click on the Clone icon.
4. Give the new enrollment a new title, usually with the current plan year and a descriptor (for example, 2024-2025 Benefits Open Enrollment). Then click on OK.
5. Back within the Benefit Enrollment Setup view, click to select your newly created enrollment and then look under the Enrollment Setup section. Use the Enrollment Type dropdown to select Open.
6. Change the Initial Notification Email Template dropdown to OpenEnroll.
7. Update the Start Date and End Date fields.
   AllianceHCM tip: You can set these to today's date rather than the actual benefit open enrollment dates for testing. This will let you make sure everything is working well, and then you can update the dates after the test to your actual dates.
8. Update the Initial Notifications Count to 7.
9. Update the Open Enrollment Benefits Effective Date field.
10. Set the Display Calculated Rates as dropdown to Per Pay Period.
11. Check the boxes for Generate Employee Document When Submitted and Include Annual Salary.
12. Update the Employee Filter dropdown. Then click Save.
13. Scroll down to the section titled Custom Enrollment Pages. Click on the Page Title that corresponds to the plan, and ensure the Welcome Page has the correct plan year, name, and description in the Preview Page section. If you need to edit it, click on the Edit Page icon in the top right of the Custom Enrollment Pages section and then Save any changes.
14. When your Welcome Page is done, click on the Benefit Guides. Here is where you can update guides, like documents for your employees. Click on Edit Page in the top right of the Custom Enrollment Pages section.
    AllianceHCM tip: If you need to unlink a previous PDF file, click on the link in the Edit Page Content window and then click on the Unlink icon. Then select the text or image you want to link again, click on the Link icon.
15. In the Link window, click on the Upload tab and then use the Choose File button to find the new file you want to upload. Follow prompts to upload it and then click on OK. Repeat the process for each employee-facing guide that needs to be updated on the page, and be sure to click Save on the Edit Page Content window when you're done with edits to a page.
16. When all of your Custom Enrollment Pages are done, you're ready to move on. Scroll back up to the top of the Benefit Enrollment Setup tab and right-click on the enrollment's Title. Then select Activate Enrollment.
17. AllPay will automatically run a check on the enrollment. You'll see the Pre Launch Check List, which will look at individual components of the enrollment and will give you a success message once the enrollment is activated.

From the Configuration module, select Enrollment Setup from the Benefits menu

Select the current New Hire Enrollment and then click on Clone

Name the new enrollment and click on OK

Select the new plan and set the Enrollment Type as Open

Make sure you update all of these fields: Start Date, End Date, Initial Notification Email Template, Initial Notifications Count, Open Enrollment Benefits Effective Date, Display Calculated Rates as, Generate Employee Document When Submitted, Include Annual Salary, and Employee Filter. Then Save.

Scroll to the Custom Enrollment Pages section, select the Welcome Page, and ensure all of the information is updated. Click the Edit Page icon if you need to make changes

Still in the Custom Enrollment Pages section, select the Benefits Guide page and click on Edit Page if you need to update any PDF guides

In the Edit Page Content window, select the link and click on the Unlink icon, then select what you want to link again if necessary and click on the Link icon

In the Link window, click on the Upload tab and then use Choose File to find the new file you want to upload. Follow prompts to upload it and then click on OK. Repeat the process for each employee-facing guide that needs to be updated

Scroll back up, right-click on the enrollment's Title, then select Activate Enrollment

You'll see the Pre Launch Check List, which will automatically check your enrollment and will give you a message once it's been successfully activated