Q - What is changing?
A - Following is a list of notable changes.
Q – Do sign dates need to be updated on the feeds for the members benefits?
A – Yes, the sign date often directs our system to a change in benefits. It is used to determine timely or late requests as well as the effective date of some changes.
Q – Where can I see if a submitted change has been completed?
A – To track the successful transmission of transactions, log in to www.principal.com, navigate to the Group Information tab, and select Transaction History.
Q – Why haven’t I received a discrepancy report?
A – Discrepancy reports have been replaced with vendor error reports. They will only be sent if there are errors on the file that need to be corrected. If a member is on a vendor error report, no processing will be completed for changes on that member until the issues are resolved.
Q – Why haven’t a member’s changes been processed? Why aren’t they showing online?
A – If the member appears on the vendor error report, there will be no changes or updates made to that member until the errors are corrected.
Q – Do I need to reply to the vendor error report?
A – No, the vendor error report is pointing out data issues that need to be corrected.
Q - Can non-standard plan provisions be maintained?
A – Most of the time. We would need specific account information to confirm this.
Q - What changes (if any) need to be made with the vendor to avoid file disruption?
A – Ensure all data on the feed is accurate. For example: all salary, effective date, address, email information, etc.
Q - Do the process changes apply to other Principal® files as well?
A - No, the process changes outlined in the mailing apply to our group products only.
Q - If a customer can only send divisions on a few of their billing units, will this continue to be an issue with modernization?
A - Yes. The file must continue to conform to the account structure for the file to pass validation. If they can’t be sent on the file feed, those members and/or benefits will need to be managed on www.principal.com.
Q - For age-reduced benefits, is there a way you can prevent them from reducing again in the Principal system?
A -No. We would expect the fully elected amount to always be sent.
Q - For situations where a benefit pends for over the guaranteed issue amount, who does Principal notify when the pending amount gets approved?
A - The employer (we don't notify the vendor/broker). It is the employer’s responsibility to notify the vendor/broker of any underwriting decisions (broker may also monitor online). The fully elected amount is expected to be submitted.
Q – If an enrollment is submitted without an employee address, will the enrollment be processed without it?
A - The member will appear on the vendor error report as notification that the information needs to be submitted. When there is an issue on a record, the processing for that specific record is stopped completely until the issue is resolved.
Q - If we have a late signature date for voluntary dental or vision, does the effective date go to the next policy anniversary? Or do we use the effective date passed on the feed?
A - If the benefits are voluntary, then the sign date sent on the file is going to be used when calculating the coverage effective date. We use the effective date provided for dental, vision, hospital indemnity, and accident benefits. NOTE: Voluntary Term Life (VTL), Voluntary Short-Term Disability (VSTD), Voluntary Long-Term Disability (VLTD), and Voluntary Critical Illness (VCI) would continue to be added, with Evidence of Insurability (EOI) requested as needed.
Q - There are two salary positions in Employee Navigator. Will you continue to receive both compensation fields?
A - Our system will first look for the Annual Benefit Salary. If that salary isn’t present, we will then look for the Annual Base Salary. If both salaries are present on the file, our system will use the Annual Benefit Salary. It is important that correct salary effective dates are on the file.
Q – Qualifying Life Events (QLE) – Does this apply to all benefits? When a QLE is processed in Employee Navigator specifically which date will you be using?
A - This does apply to all benefits that are subject to QLE. Our system will first look for the sign date in the coverage/benefit level of the file. If the coverage/benefit level sign date is not given, then the file received date will be used as the requested date.
Q – Why is salary information required to be submitted now when we have been able to handle this separately in the past?
A – The data on the file will be utilized as sent. It is important that all data is accurate. The correct salary and salary effective dates can and should be sent on the feed.
Q – Should a member class be changed to “ineligible” when they become ineligible for benefits?
A – No, this will cause the member to error out. The class should not be changed; instead, the benefit end dates and member termination dates (last day of coverage) should be changed for the member.
Q – Who do I contact if I am unsure how to code something in the Employee Navigator system?
A – The Employee Navigator Help Center and Employee Navigator University will help with questions. Also, depending on the license level selected, direct help options from the Employee Navigator support team may be available as well.
Q – QLEs are not included in the feed. How do we handle this?
A – Employee Navigator cannot transmit QLE dates through the exchange. Review the effective date of your QLE enrollments by checking the Transaction Summary Log on www.principal.com/login. If the effective date is not correct, email groupbenefitsadmin@principal.com. Include your Principal account number with the word “FEED” in the subject line to route your inquiry to the appropriate team.
Q – What date is being used to determine new member enrollment date of hire?
A - We would first look at the Eligibility Basis Date, and if missing, then we look at the hire date to calculate benefit effective dates.
Q – I received the vendor error report, and it’s stating, “effective dates cannot be before the date of hire”. What does this mean?
A – The event date (DTP * 356) is being coded with a date that is prior to the members date of hire. To fix this, if there are:
Q – Should the DTP * 356 field always be sent on the file with a date?
A – The preference is that the DTP *356 only be sent if there is a change for a member.
Q - For benefit amounts that require EOI, can we send both the approved and the pending amount?
A - The fully elected amount must be sent. The amount approved or pending is not required but can be sent in the approved amount field.
SEGMENT
TERM
INDEX
OPTIONS
INVESTMENT
PROTECTION
OPTIONS
GROWTH
POTENTIAL
FEATURES