Self-Service Benefits supports a variety of enrollment types, including open, unrestricted, and life event enrollments for one or more flex or non-flex programs.
The enrollment choices, price tags, and other information in Self-Service Benefits web pages are derived from Oracle Applications database tables using the rules of your plan design. Updated information is stored in the Oracle Applications database tables using standard Application Programmable Interfaces (APIs).
Self-Service Benefits supports enrollment for plans and options in a program.
The benefits administrator can control the display format for plans and options in a program. Depending on the display format chosen for a program, employees can:
Expand a program to view details of plans and options available in the program. Additional details on certification, coverage, coverage start date help in the enrollment process. Links to the plan and option details provide further information.
Use vertical plan types, which can have multiple rates, to enable plan level enrollments and horizontal plans types to enable enrollments in options inside a plan level with single rate. You can click links on options and plans to view further details.
Use Oracle's professional forms interface or the self-service Individual Compensation Distribution web pages to enroll participants in all plans not in a program such as savings plans, Employee Stock Purchase Plans (ESPP), or 401(k) plans.
Self-Service Benefits offers an employee the opportunity to:
Review current, and future program benefits enrollments, and up to ten past enrollments, within the last two years
Select benefits
Distribute excess flex credits (Advanced Benefits)
Add, update, or review family member information
Note: Family member information entered through the self-service interface and personal contact data entered through the professional forms interface share the same table. Any data entered or updated in Self-Service HRMS or the professional forms interface is reflected in both interfaces.
Add, update, or remove dependents
Note: Self-Service requires dependents and beneficiaries to have the personal relationship check box checked on the Contacts window.
Add, update, or remove beneficiaries
Employees can select organizational beneficiaries provided that the administrator has entered the Beneficiary Organization using the professional forms interface, and selected the May Designate Organization as Beneficiary check box in the plan enrollment requirements.
Add attachments to provide documentation as part of the self service benefit enrollment process
View the certification requirements for the enrollment based on the life event, enrollment selections and dependent designations. This includes the certification name, associated compensation object or dependent name and the action item due date.
Attach documents to the enrollment. Benefits administrators have access to open and/or save the uploaded documents.
Note: The benefits administrator can control the availability of the Attachments page.
Search for and select primary care providers
Print a temporary participant identification card
Save or print an enrollment confirmation statement as a PDF document
During implementation, you can choose to display a predefined Legal Disclaimer page in Self-Service Benefits. Before self-service users can enroll in a benefit, they must read and accept the terms provided in the Legal Disclaimer page. If they do not accept these terms, the application will not enable the users to enroll.
You can enter the instruction text for the Legal Disclaimer page in the Self Service Instructor Text field in the Communication Types Usages window. This is a one-time process that you can complete when you set up Self-Service Benefits. You can also include HTML tags in the Disclaimer text for formatting effects, such as bold and indented text.
You can configure the Workflow Builder to send a notification to an HR professional whenever a participant updates a Self-Service Benefits Enrollment web page, excluding the Primary Care Provider page. The notification contains the following information and provides direct access to the Confirmation page for the participant, but is not linked to any Workflow approval process:
Name of Employee
Social Security Number or National Identifier
Life Event Name
Enrollment Period
Selected Benefit Plans and Options
List of Covered Dependents
Oracle Workflow sends a notification to a worklist or group that you maintain after the participant completes the enrollment update. If the participant closes the browser window prior to reaching the Confirmation page, Oracle Workflow sends a notification within one hour of the first enrollment change.
You can manually override the enrollment or contact the participant to correct and resubmit the election if necessary.
There are a number of fields that are delivered hidden by default on the self-service pages. You can choose to display them. They include:
Coverage start and end dates for specific enrollments
Cost 2 (after tax), 3 (taxable), and 4 (miscellaneous) columns for displaying multiple rates for a vertical display plan type
Physician group and hospital, on the Primary Care Provider Search page
Full name
See: Benefits Enrollments for further details of these hidden fields and the regions where you can display them.
The following descriptive flexfields can be entered in self-service Benefits:
Additional Ben Prtt Enrt Rslt F Details (BEN_PRTT_ENRT_RSLT_F)
You enter this flexfield data on the Benefits Information page, which appears after the Benefits Selection page if the flexfield has been set up and there are global segments, or segments defined for the selected plan type.
Add'l Contact R'ship Det's (PER_CONTACTS)
You enter this flexfield data in the Miscellaneous region of the Family Member Add page. You can also view or enter the flexfield data in the Personal Information module of SSHR.
Further Person Information (Person Developer DF)
You enter this flexfield data in the Name and Relationship region of the Family Member Add page.
If you have set up the Further Person Information or Additional Contact Relationship Details flexfields, you can choose to display some or all of the segments in self-service using the Personalization Framework. See: Configuring Flexfields
The Additional Ben Prtt Enrt Rslt F Details flexfield appears automatically if you define and freeze this flexfield. You must bounce the Apache server after freezing or unfreezing the flexfield to ensure that your changes are displayed.
You may want to display the Additional Ben Prtt Enrt Rslt F Details flexfield only for enrollment in specific compensation objects. For example, you may want to display prior years commission information to participants for a supplemental life insurance plan, while hiding commission information used to calculate group life insurance rates.
To display the flexfield differentially by compensation object, you must define a context for the flexfield based on BG_ID_PL_TYP_ID. On the Descriptive Flexfield Segments window, uncheck the Displayed check box for the context if you do not want to show the context poplist to the user. Notice that if you display this list, it will contain all the contexts for the flexfield (even those for other business groups) unless you restrict them by a value set defined for the context.
If there are frozen segments for the descriptive flexfield but no global segments defined and no segments defined for the selected plan type, the Benefits Information page appears in the enrollment chain but the region pertaining to this plan type does not display. Existing data set up in the flexfield is not affected by any new contexts you define for self-service.
Before eligible participants can enroll in self-service benefits using the self-service interface, you must design your benefit plan using Oracle's professional forms interface. The following topics look at the points you should consider when designing your plan for the self-service environment.
Self-Service Benefits is delivered with US-style formatting for the following fields:
Address
Social Security Number
Pre Tax Cost
After Tax Cost
For non-US self-service implementations, you can edit field labels to fit your legislative requirements and you can also hide and unhide fields. For example, you may want to hide the list of States from the address fields.
Note: The address style and country used by Self-Service Benefits is inherited from the primary benefits participant.
If your legislation or benefit plan design does not allow for after tax contributions, consider hiding the after tax columns on the tables contained in the following web pages:
Benefits Enrollment Overview
Current Benefits Overview
Benefits Selection
Confirmation
See: Setting Up Self-Service Benefits Web Pages
See: Benefits Enrollments for a list of the configurable user interface elements in each delivered web page.
The third party product Authoria HR provides a common knowledge repository to manage and communicate HR and benefits information.
After a self-service implementer defines a total compensation plan in the Oracle HRMS professional user interface, licensees of Authoria HR can configure links between Oracle HRMS and Authoria HR.
End users can click on links in the applicable self-service web pages to display context-sensitive Authoria HR documentation.
You can configure the following self-service enrollment windows for use with Authoria HR:
Benefits Enrollment Overview page
Current Benefits page
Confirmation page
Benefits Selection page
See Configuring Links Between Oracle Standard and Advanced Benefits and Authoria HR
You can display up to four standard rates for each compensation object to enable employees to see employee and employer paid premiums, and related costs such as fringe benefit taxes and administrative fees. Multiple rates are displayed on the Overview, Benefits Selection, Current Benefits, and Confirmation pages.
Only vertical display Plan Types are able to be custom formatted in self-service to display multiple rates for a single compensation object. Due to display and sizing constraints, horizontal display Plan Types cannot display multiple rates. You can only display one standard rate per column.
When you define standard rates for self-service, you can select any activity type and tax type. However, you must check the Display on Enrollment check box (Processing Information tab) and you must specify the Self Service Display Order number (1 to 4).
When you display multiple rates, the column headings in self-service are Cost 1, Cost 2, Cost 3, and Cost 4. Otherwise, a single rate displays as either Pretax or Aftertax. You can change the column headings using the Personalization Framework.
When defining your standard rate, consider the following:
For Costs 2, 3, and 4 you can select the Display on Enrollment check box (Processing Information tab of Standard Rates window) or the Enter Value at Enrollment check box (Calculation Method tab). However, do not select the Enter Annual Value check box on the Calculation Method tab. Annual Value can only be entered in Cost 1, if applicable.
Costs 2, 3, and 4 can be used to calculate additional amounts, either based on the coverage or the amount in Cost 1. For example, if you charge a 2% administration fee for a spending account, you would set up the rates as follows:
Coverage-Check the Enter Value at Enrollment box
Cost 1 = Contribution - Select Same as Coverage as the Calculation Method
Cost 2 = Administration Fee - Select Multiple of Coverage as the Calculation Method (0.02 * coverage, in this example)
Cost 3 = Total Cost - Select Multiple of Coverage as the Calculation Method (1.02 * coverage, in this example)
If you are displaying multiple rates, you may not want them all deducted from flex credits. Use the Application tab on the Benefits Pool window to determine which standard rate to deduct. All rates selected on this tab are included in the Flex Credit Used Total. Unused Flex Credits (rollovers) displayed are not impacted by the use of multiple rates.
To ensure that your qualifying participants can enroll in Flexible Spending Account (FSA) plans using Self-Service Benefits, you must set up your plans using one of the following two methods:
The preferred method is to use the Plan Types window to define one plan type for each FSA plan. For example, you define one plan type for Dependent Care FSA plans and a second plan type for Health Care FSA plans. For each plan type, you define the coverage plan or plans into which participants and their dependents can enroll. You also define a decline coverage plan which is linked to each plan type.
Alternatively, you can set up one FSA plan type that covers both dependent care and health care plans. Within this plan type, you define plans for both dependent care and health care. Then, within these plans, you link options for both selecting and declining coverage.
Other items for consideration:
When you define the activity rate for the FSA plan, check the Enter Value at Enrollment field in the Calculation Method region of the Standard Rates window.
Select Set Annual Rate Equal to Coverage as the calculation method.
In the Coverages window, define the minimum and maximum contribution amounts for the FSA plan. Indicate that values for this plan are entered at enrollment.
With Flexible Benefits Programs, you can offer flex credits to eligible participants to offset the cost of benefits. When you defining a benefit program in the Programs window, select the same periodicity for the activity reference period (the time period in which the system expresses activity rates) and the enrollment rate frequency (the activity rate that is communicated to participants). This ensures that the price tags for selecting benefits and the flex credits available to participants are expressed for the same time period.
Other items for consideration:
Unless your flex credits are determined using the result of a calculation, you indicate the number of flex credits associated with a compensation object by entering the value in the Flat Amount field in the Calculation Method region of the Flex Credits window.
You must set up a flex credits placeholder plan and link this plan to the flex program. This plan records the total flex credits for the program. Define a rate for this plan by entering zero in the Flat Amount field of the Calculation Method region of the Standard Rates window.
Set the processing type of the corresponding element to Recurring.
A temporary identification card allows a participant to obtain medical, dental, or other benefit treatment before the participant receives the official membership card from the provider. Using Self-Service Benefits, a participant can print one card for each elected plan that allows for temporary identification cards. The participant can also print a card for each covered dependent.
The application generates a temporary ID card upon:
Enrollment
Re-enrollment
Change in Enrollment
Participant Request (due to loss)
The identification card includes information such as:
Employee Name and Social Security Number
Member Name and Social Security Number (for dependents)
Employer Name
Plan Name
You indicate that a plan allows for the printing of temporary ID cards by checking the Allow Temporary Identification field on the Plans window.
Depending on your plan design, you must set up either a decline coverage plan or option that allows a participant to waive an enrollment opportunity for which they are otherwise eligible.
If a plan type contains multiple plans, you create a decline coverage plan in the Plans window (in addition to the regular plans) and indicate that the plan is of the specified plan type. If a plan type has only one plan, you define a decline coverage option and link it to the plan. This ensures that participants can either select or decline benefit coverage.
Note: If your plan design requires that a participant select at least one option from a group of options or at least one plan from a group of plans, do not define a decline coverage plan or option.
Self-Service Benefits What-if enables you to model electability for benefits based on proposed changes to a person's HR record, before you make the actual change. When you model electability, the database does not save changes, so you can view different electability scenarios without having to manually save data.
The Self-Service Benefits What-if page is available from Manager and Employee Self-Service Responsibilities. To ensure that certain data is not visible to all users, as an administrator, you can define roles for Self-Service Benefits What-if. Managers can review changes to benefits for employees in their security group that would result from proposed changes to the employee's HR record. Employees can view changes to their benefits based on proposed data changes to their HR records. The comparison is in terms of their electable choices, plan or option enrollment rate.
As a manager or an employee, you can compare current benefits with the proposed benefits based on the electable choices, and a plan or option enrollment rate. For example, you can view the benefits impact of relocation or a change in weekly hours worked.
See: Modeling a Person's Benefits Eligibility (Advanced Benefits)
The system does not allow you to model electability if current life events are in progress. What-if electability depends only on the data changes you elect to model. Using the HRMS System Administrator responsibility, you need to enable the Benefits Compensation Objects Extra Information Type (EIT). This EIT enables you to add information about the type of compensation object such as program, plan type, compensation object name, and a flag indicating whether the compensation object is visible to the user.
See: Setting Up Extra Information Types Against a Responsibility
You also define the What-if Label that displays to users who perform the what-if modeling, and the life events for compensation objects and link one or more person changes to each life event.
See: Setting Up What-if Modeling
You can use the HRMS System Administrator responsibility to configure Self-Service Benefits What-if so that managers only view changes to benefits for employees in their security profile.
By default, the Self-Service Benefits pages do not display some fields. However, you can choose to display them using the Personalization Framework.
See: Benefits Enrollments