The Coverage Minimum, Coverage Maximum, and Coverage Amount fields in the Coverage tab, and Amount field in the Guaranteed Amount tab of life and disability options, all have an Edit button. When you click Edit, Dayforce opens the Benefits Expression Builder.
Following are descriptions of the tabs of the Benefits Expression Builder and how you can use them to build expressions:
Variable Library
Several predefined variables are used in the expression builder and they’re listed in this tab. Different variables are shown depending on which type of expression you're building (for example, Coverage Minimum or Guaranteed Amount):
- BaseComp: Represents whatever base compensation that the calculation uses.
- BenComp: Represents the employee's Benefits Compensation benefit property amount.
- CoverageAmount: Represents the value returned by the Coverage Amount expression.
- CoverageMin: Represents the value returned by the Coverage Minimum expression.
- CoverageMax: Represents the value returned by the Coverage Maximum expression.
- PreviousCoverageAmount: Returns the amount configured for the previous option with the same cross-reference code that’s effective immediately before the current option, with no gap of time in between.
- PreviousPlanCoverageAmount: Dayforce can return the amount configured for any option that is within the same plan as the previous option. The previous option must be effective immediately before the current option, with no gap of time in between.
- PreAgeReductionPreviousCoverageAmount: Returns the amount configured for the previous option with the same cross-reference code that’s effective immediately before the current option, with no gap of time in between, before age reduction was applied.
- Note: If the Apply on Import checkbox is selected in the guaranteed amount setup, the PreAgeReductionPreviousCoverageAmount value defaults to zero because it's assumed that an imported election is the employee's first election.
Click Insert and Dayforce pastes it into the expression that you're creating.
Note: You can't set up a coverage amount expression or guaranteed amount expression that uses both a PreviousPlanCoverageAmount value and an option reference that you’ve configured in the External Variables tab of the guaranteed amount. If you use an option reference, the plan setup generates a validation error, but Dayforce won't show an error when you add the option for an employee in the Benefits > Benefit Elections screen in People; however, Dayforce won't calculate the correct amount.
External Variables
You can define additional variables in the External Variables tab of the expression builder.
The external variable returns the coverage amount for the selected employee, for the option specified. External variables have the following fields:
- Reference Name: The name you create to represent the value in the coverage expressions; it can't start with a digit and can only contain alphanumeric characters.
- Reference Code: The reference code of the plan option, payroll deduction grouping, or payroll earning grouping that is used in the coverage expression.
- Reference Type: (Coverage expressions only) The type of reference code being used in the coverage expression. The choices in this drop-down list are as follows:
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- Option: The coverage amount from another plan option.
- Payroll Deduction Grouping: An employee’s to-date deduction amount as defined by the grouping used in the expression.
- Payroll Earning Grouping: An employee’s to-date earning amount as defined by the grouping used in the expression.
- If you’re creating expressions in the Guaranteed Amount tab of an option, you don't make a selection in the Reference Type drop-down list (no choices to select). You can use plan options as external variables only in guaranteed amount expressions, and that information is defined by the Reference Code field.
To create an external variable, click Add and enter or select values in the Reference Name, Reference Code, Reference Type fields. You can add as many custom external variables as necessary.
Click Insert and Dayforce pastes it into the expression that you’re creating.
Note: For more information on payroll groupings, see Deduction and Earning Groupings.
Builder
Shows the different functions that you can use to build your expression.
Error List
Shows errors in the logic of your expression. For example, in the expression below, the operator that completes the expression is missing:
The Error List tells you exactly what is missing, and where, so that you can quickly fix the expression.
Referenced Variables
When you create an expression using a variable that you’ve inserted from either the External Variables or Variable Library tabs, and the value of that variable can change, Dayforce shows that variable in the Referenced Variables tab:
You can test the expression with different values for those variables. Click the Test Value column in each row to enter a value.