Participant Definition Settings

In the Participant Definition tab of a health or life and disability option in Benefits Setup > Plans and Options, you can configure the participant details.

When you select a tier for the option, it's updated at the plan level in the Tiers tab of Benefits Setup > Plans and Options. See Configure Tiers.

Tier options
Tier	Minimum participants	Required checkboxes
Employee	1
Employee & Spouse/Legal Partner	2	Allow Spouse to Enroll or Allow Legal Partner to Enroll
Employee & Child(ren)	2	Allow Children to Enroll
Employee & Family	3	Allow Spouse to Enroll or Allow Legal Partner to Enroll and Allow Children to Enroll
Employee & 1 Child	2	Allow Children to Enroll
Employee & 1 Dependent	2	Optional: Allow Spouse to Enroll, Allow Legal Partner to Enroll and Allow Children to Enroll
Employee & 2 Dependents	3	Same
Employee & 3 Dependents	4	Same
Employee & 4 Dependents	5	Same
Employee & 5 Dependents	6	Same
Employee & 1 or more Dependents	2	At least one of Allow Spouse to Enroll, Allow Legal Partner to Enroll or Allow Children to Enroll
Employee & 2 or more Dependents	3	Allow Children to Enroll

Several of these settings show only when you select or set a parent field:

Fields for configuring participant definitions
Field	Description
Tier	Shows the tier selected for the option at the plan level in the Tiers tab. If needed, you can select a new tier or coverage level in the drop-down list. The tiers are listed in the preceding table.
Apply Participant Restrictions	Allows restrictions to determine who can be enrolled in the option. Dayforce validates the option selected in the Tier drop-down list when configuring the participant details. Clear the checkbox to allow participant enrollment without applying restrictions.
Number of Participants Allowed (Including Employee)	Sets the minimum and maximum number of participants, including the employee who can be enrolled in an option. The Min Number field is at least 1, representing the employee. To restrict an option allowing only the employee to enroll, enter `1` in both the Min Number and Max Number fields. Dayforce validates the Min Number value against the tier that you select. See the previous table.
Allow Spouse to Enroll	Allows employees to enroll a person defined as a spouse in the option. You can further limit spouse participants. This checkbox doesn't force coverage for a specific type of dependent in the option. Example: An option requires at least three participants (the employee and two dependents) and Allow Spouse to Enroll and Allow Children to Enroll are both selected for the option. Employees who elect this option aren't forced to cover their spouse. They can enroll a spouse and a child, or they can enroll two children.
Min Age	The minimum age of a spouse enrolled in an option. This field is required. If you don't want to limit the age of dependents, you can enter a value of 0 in this field and leave the Max Age field empty.
Max Age	The maximum age at which a spouse can be enrolled in an option. When a spouse exceeds the Max Age value, they are no longer eligible. For example, if the Max Age value is 26, dependents are covered through the age of 26 and become ineligible when they turn 27.
Only allow spouse to enroll if not offered coverage elsewhere	Prevents employees from enrolling a spouse in the option if the spouse has medical coverage offered elsewhere and a coverage verification status of “Yes.” Dayforce only shows this checkbox for options of the following health plan subtypes as configured in Benefits Setup > Plans and Options: Medical Medical EPO Medical HMO Medical Indemnity Medical PPL
Allow Legal Partner to Enroll	Allows employees to enroll a person defined as a legal partner in the option. You can further limit legal partner participants. This checkbox doesn't force coverage for a specific type of dependent in the option. Example: An option requires at least three participants (the employee and two dependents) and Allow Spouse to Enroll and Allow Children to Enroll are both selected for the option. Employees who elect this option aren't forced to cover their spouse. They can enroll a spouse and a child, or they can enroll two children. See the description for Min Age and Max Age fields in the previous rows. The description applies to the legal partner age.
Allow Children to Enroll	Allows employees to enroll a person defined as a child in the option. Also, Dayforce shows the Limit Children Age Range and Allow Student & Disabled Child Status fields. This checkbox doesn't force coverage for a specific type of dependent in the option. Example: An option requires at least three participants (the employee and two dependents) and Allow Spouse to Enroll and Allow Children to Enroll are both selected for the option. Employees who elect this option aren't forced to cover their spouse. They can enroll a spouse and a child, or they can enroll two children. This checkbox must be selected for the following tiers: Employee & Child(ren) Employee & 1 Child Employee & 2 or more Dependents
Allow Student & Disabled Child Status	Applies student and disability definitions to the option eligibility. Dayforce shows the Limit Student Age Range and Limit Disabled Child Age Range fields.
Limit Children Age Range/Limit Student Age Range/Limit Disabled Child Age Range	Sets age limitations on child participants. When you select one of these checkboxes, Dayforce shows fields that allow you to further limit child participants. The age restrictions apply so that if children are eligible based on any of the age requirement types (child, student, or disabled), they’re eligible to enroll. See the description of the Based On field below. See the description for Min Age and Max Age fields in the previous rows. The description applies to the age of the child, student, or child with a disability. If you want employees to receive notification before their dependents reach the maximum age limit in benefits, configure the Dependent Age Out notification. See Configure Dependent Age Out Notifications.
Based on	Determines how Dayforce calculates the age of a child, student, or child with a disability: End of Calendar Year End of Plan Year Event Date (Dependent Age Changed event; for information on this event type, see Dependent Age Changed). First Day of Month Last Date of Pay Period Last Day of Month Last Day of Next Month If children are eligible based on any of the age requirement types (child, student, or disabled), they’re eligible to enroll. Example: An employee has a child, John, who is 27 years old and is a student. The participant definition is configured with the following age restrictions: Allow Children to Enroll Limit Children Age Range Min Age 0 and Max Age 26 Allow Student and Disabled Child Status Limit Student Age Range: Min Age 20 and Max Age 30 Limit Disabled Child Age Range: Min Age 0 and Max Age 35 John is now eligible to participate despite not meeting the child age requirement, because John meets the student age requirement.
Enable End Coverage Rule	Applies a coverage end rule to child dependents. You can configure coverage to end on a date other than the child's birthday, such as the last day of the birthday month. This approach helps to ensure that coverage is ended in accordance with your benefits policy. When the checkbox is selected, the dependent age can be based only on an event date, and the Event Date option shows in the Based on drop-down list. As long as the the Enable End Coverage Rule checkbox is selected, the Based on selection can't be changed. Also, when the checkbox is selected, Dayforce shows the End Coverage drop-down list. Note the following: Although a dependent coverage end rule doesn’t need to be the same as the rule set for employees, Dayforce doesn’t allow coverage for dependents to exceed that of employees. If an employee’s coverage ends, Dayforce ends coverage for all associated dependents at the same time, regardless of the dependent coverage end rule configured. If a dependent is no longer eligible for an option and this change in participants causes the employee to no longer be eligible for the option, the employee's coverage is ended at the same time as the dependent's coverage. If you set an age limit for child dependents, but don't set a coverage end rule, dependent coverage ends on the event date (the child's birthday).
End Coverage	Select an option in the drop-down list to set when coverage ends. If a child dependent has a birthday in July, when they exceed the maximum age for participation, their coverage ends as follows: Event Date: Their birthday First Day of Month: July 1 Last Date of Pay Period: On the end date of the pay period after their birthday Last Day of Month: July 31 Last Day of Next Month: August 31 Event Date: Their birthday First Day of Month: July 1 Last Date of Pay Period: On the end date of the pay period after their birthday Last Day of Month: July 31 Last Day of Next Month: August 31 Example: Shruti, a child dependent, turns 27 on July 15. Her option has a maximum age of 26, so her coverage ends as follows: Event Date: July 15, Shruti's birthday First Day of Month: July 1 Last Date of Pay Period: On the end date of the pay period after her birthday Last Day of Month: July 31 Last Day of Next Month: August 31 If you select Event Date in the drop-down list, Dayforce shows the Offset field.
Offset	An offset period from the coverage end date when it's an event date. Enter a value in the field and then select days or months in the drop-down list. Example: If you enter 3 in the Offset field and select months in the drop-down list, the coverage ends for the dependent three months after the event date when the dependent reached the maximum age.