Products March 14, 2017

PlanSource Enhances Mobile and Online Solutions

Enhancements include more options for administering 401(k) accounts and configuring how employee groups are managed in the system.
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PlanSource has launched Andromeda, its spring product release, which it says is one of the first online technologies to feature mobile-friendly benefits enrollment.   

Plansource’s new employee experience was developed using responsive design, meaning that employees can shop for and enroll in benefits on any device, whether it is on a laptop, tablet or phone and, unlike a mobile app that consumers have to download, the site will simply adapt and work on any size screen.   

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The new employee experience was built to make the benefits shopping and enrollment experience as easy and intuitive as possible. It includes cards to display plan options, sliders for making selections and concepts that consumers are already familiar with such as a shopping cart and a checkout process.  

Along with the new employee experience, the Andromeda release contains multiple other enhancements, including:

  • New navigation in the administrator interface – The navigation within the PlanSource administrator user interface has been redesigned and simplified to provide a streamlined, more user-friendly experience.
  • New reports center – The reports area of the system has been updated with a modern look, a more intuitive workflow, dashboards and report descriptions.
  • Report enhancements – Updates and enhancements have been made to many of the standard reports human resources teams use to track and monitor benefits programs. 
  • Expanded business rules – More options are available for administering 401(k) accounts and configuring how employee groups are managed in the system.
  • APIs and integrations – Andromeda includes enhanced APIs for handling evidence of insurability, payroll deductions, and updates to employee and dependent demographic information, as well as deepened integration with MetLife.    

In addition, all PlanSource customers now have full access to the professional services added by the recent acquisition of Next Generation Enrollment, including COBRA administration, benefit account administration, employee contact center, total benefits outsourcing, dependent verification and custom employee communications.   

More details about the Andromeda release can be found at www.plansource.com/release.
Compliance March 14, 2017

FASB Issues Update to Accounting Standards Codification

The amendments involve the presentation of net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement benefit cost.
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The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued an update to its accounting standards codification, titled “Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost.”

The Board says it is issuing the update primarily to improve the presentation of net periodic pension cost and net periodic post-retirement benefit cost. It notes that Topic 715, Compensation—Retirement Benefits, does not prescribe where the amount of net benefit cost should be presented in an employer’s income statement and does not require entities to disclose by line item the amount of net benefit cost that is included in the income statement or capitalized in assets.

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FASB explains that many stakeholders observed that the presentation of defined benefit cost on a net basis combines elements that are heterogeneous. As such, these stakeholders stated that the current presentation requirement is less transparent, reduces the decision usefulness of the financial information, and requires users to incur greater costs in analyzing financial statements.

The amendments in the update require that an employer report the service cost component in the same line item or items as other compensation costs arising from services rendered by the pertinent employees during the period. The other components of net benefit cost as defined in paragraphs 715-30-35-4 and 715-60-35-9 are required to be presented in the income statement separately from the service cost component and outside a subtotal of income from operations, if one is presented. If a separate line item or items are used to present the other components of net benefit cost, that line item or items must be appropriately described.

If a separate line item or items are not used, the line item or items used in the income statement to present the other components of net benefit cost must be disclosed. The amendments in the update also allow only the service cost component to be eligible for capitalization when applicable (for example, as a cost of internally manufactured inventory or a self-constructed asset).

The amendments require that an employer disaggregate the service cost component from the other components of net benefit cost. The amendments also provide explicit guidance on how to present the service cost component and the other components of net benefit cost in the income statement and allow only the service cost component of net benefit cost to be eligible for capitalization.

FASB says the amendments improve the consistency, transparency, and usefulness of financial information to users that have communicated that the service cost component generally is analyzed differently from the other components of net benefit cost.

FASB’s statement is here.

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