Paychex Flex

Since ProgramPay, powered by Vestwell, supports Payroll Concierge services with your payroll provider, we can take a lot of work off your plate regarding the processing of your payroll files through automation (yay!). This guide will help you with set up steps as well as help you understand your specific responsibilities for the proper submission of payroll files. Even though we offer Concierge services with your payroll provider, Plan Sponsors have ongoing requirements to make sure the content is correct.

How do I initiate Payroll Concierge?

1. Complete the linked form: Payroll Integration Request Form and provide your Paychex Flex ID on the designated section of the form
• Your ID can be found below your company name within your Paychex Flex portal or by contacting your Paychex Flex representative
• Vestwell will use the Paychex Flex ID to send you an access request for your Paychex Flex account
2. Our team will reach out to notify you once we have sent you the request for access.
3. Log back into Paychex Flex to grant Vestwell access

• • On the Dashboard under Tasks, click View All. Don’t see it? > Click Manage Tiles.
  • Menu(left side) > User Access > Jonathan Ferrara
    • Who is Jonathan Ferrara? 
  • Once you are fully set up, you will see two accounts associated with Jonathan Ferrara in your Paychex Flex portal. Both of these are required to have Super Admin access in order for  Vestwell to provide Payroll Concierge services.

Note:  To grant us access, you must be a Super Admin on your Paychex Flex account.  If you are not a Super Admin, please work with the appropriate person in your organization who is to grant this access. 

1. Once you locate the request, please follow the on-screen instruction to assign the user 'Super Admin' access.
2. Please ensure that your Paychex Flex representative added all the required deduction codes to your plan:
   • 401k EE PreTax (allow catch-up contributions)
     • Component Type: 401K EE PreTax
   • 401k EE Roth (allow catch-up contributions)
     • Component Type: Roth 401K EE
   • 401k ER (Employer Match)
     • Component Type: 401K ER
   • 401k Loan (Loans, if applicable) 
     • Component Type: 401K Loan Payment 

3. Enter initial deferral amounts per participant in Paychex Flex using the deduction codes your Paychex Flex representative created

• • • • (Search each employee in Paychex Flex and Edit or Add the deduction code & deferral amount)

4. Once you have completed the above, our team reviews the settings and completes the setup at Vestwell.  Once complete, we will reach out to you via email to confirm everything is in good order and provide the first pay date in which Payroll Concierge services will begin processing your payroll. Until the integration is activated, contribution uploads into the ProgramPay portal will be required until our team has notified you that the integration can begin.

IMPORTANT* - If you have an existing 401K that is converting from Paychex Flex to Voya ABA RF there are other steps you must complete.

• Your plan’s deferral & loan data will not automatically transfer to the new deduction codes.  You will be responsible for setting up your employees deferral details before Vestwell can successfully process your employee contributions & loan repayments.
• Please be sure to contact your Paychex Flex representative to remove all previous “PX” deduction codes that may appear as (but are not limited to):
  • PX 401EEPRE
  • PX 401ERCUM
  • PX 401 EECU
  • PX 401 ERMTCH
  • PXROTH 401 EECU
  • PX ROTH 401 EEPO
  • PX401 LN PMT
• Once removed, please request that your Paychex Flex representative enter the following required deduction codes to your plan’s Paychex Flex account:
  • 401k EE PreTax (allow catch-up contributions)
  • 401k EE Roth (allow catch-up contributions)
  • 401k ER (Employer Match)
  • 401k Loan (Loans, if applicable) 

Are there any reasons why my plan might not be eligible for an integration? 

In order for our Payroll Concierge team to know when to pull your payroll, you must have a recurring payroll schedule setup in both ProgramPay and your payroll system.  Without that, we won't be able to setup this service for your plan.

There are some plan design features that currently prohibit the use of payroll integration, including:

• Plans which have multiple pay groups
• Plans which have multiple EINs
• Plans which have multiple log ins into their payroll system
• Plans which do not have an established recurring pay schedule setup in both ProgramPay and the payroll system
• Plans which do not use the same payroll provider for all pay group(s)
• Plans which have limitations preventing each pay group from being integrated
• Plans with per pay period non-mandatory employer contributions
• Plans that allow after-tax contributions 
  • Note: After-Tax and Roth contributions are not the same

Once you grant ProgramPay access to your payroll system, our team will evaluate your plan setup in your payroll system and determine if there are any other barriers to integration.

If your plan has been amended or if you are considering an amendment to your original plan documents, please inform your ABA Retirement Representative to understand what actions on your part will be required to submit and process your payroll files correctly.

How does Payroll Concierge work?

With this type of support, ProgramPay's team of payroll experts accesses your payroll system so we can transfer your payroll files and Plan-related data between ProgramPay and your payroll provider.  

Why do I have to grant access to my payroll system for Payroll Concierge?

To provide our Payroll Concierge services, we need the ability to view and download information relating to your Plan from Paychex Flex. These activities require Administrator or Accountant-level permissions.

We realize that you are trusting us with some of your most sensitive employee information by granting us this level of access. We are committed to data security and privacy; you can read about our internal processes and controls in our Privacy Policy and security area of our website.

What are my ongoing responsibilities?  

Our ability to successfully process your payroll files and administer your plan depends on you! It is your responsibility to:

• Payroll (Deferral/Deduction) Codes
  • Set up and maintain payroll codes within your payroll system.
• Loans
  • Set up and maintain retirement loans within your payroll system 
• Initializing Deferral rates
  • You are responsible for ensuring that all employee deferral rates are set up in Paychex Flex before the first payroll date supported through Payroll Concierge. 
  • NOTE: *If you have converted your 401k to ABA RF, please recheck all your deferral & match rates and loans after Paychex Flex has created the payroll deferral codes.  In some instances, you may need to re-enter those rates into Paychex Flex.
• Pay Groups 
  • Once Payroll Concierge services are active, you will no longer be able to edit pay groups in the ProgramPay portal as this can disrupt the processing of contributions. For further assistance, please contact voyaaba@vestwell.com.
• Pay Frequency/Schedule Changes
  •  Report any pay frequency or pay schedule changes to ProgramPay.
• Discretionary and/or Profit-Sharing Contributions 
  • Set up and maintain annual and/or quarterly non-mandatory company contributions within your payroll system and upload these contributions through your ProgramPay portal as an off-cycle contribution. 
• Mandatory Employer Contributions
  • Set up and maintain mandatory employer contributions that are on a frequency other than on a per pay period basis and upload these contributions through your ProgramPay portal as an off-cycle contribution.
• Per pay period Safe Harbor employer contribution
  • Setup and maintain mandatory employer contributions that are on a pay period basis.
• New Employee Deferral Rate
  • Initial employee deferral rates must be added directly in Paychex Flex for each new employee.
• Employee Deferral Updates/ Changes
  • Ongoing deferral changes shared directly with you, not using the Voya Participant portal by eligible employees must be set by you directly in the payroll system.
  • Please note: You are responsible for any deferral updates NOT processed through Participant Web.
• Employee Status Changes - Payroll System
  • Make updates in your payroll system when employees are hired, terminated, or re-hired, etc.
• Employee Personal Information
  •  Maintain complete, accurate, and up-to-date personal information within your payroll system - including date of birth, social security number, and email address. 
• Review Payroll Data
  • We rely on you to provide us with correct, updated, and complete data about your employees regardless of whether we receive that data directly from you or from your payroll provider. Regular audits and spot checks of the data provided to us will help you quickly identify and rectify any discrepancies. 
• Off-Cycle Payroll Submissions
  • Report any off-cycle payroll run through your payroll system to voyaaba@vestwell.com. These will not be uploaded automatically through Payroll Concierge.

What payroll activities does ProgramPay handle for me?

• Employee Deferral Updates made through ParticipantWeb
  • Deferral rate changes made by employees directly in Voya ParticipantWeb will be updated automatically within 2 business days.
  • NOTE: Ongoing deferral changes shared directly with you from eligible participants, not using the Voya Participant portal, must be set by you directly in the payroll system.   
  • If your plan has an auto-enrollment feature, the same guidelines above apply. 
  • Remember, initial deferral rates must be setup by you directly in the payroll system.
• Processing Contributions
  • Process employee deferrals and employer contributions which are maintained by the integration shortly after you run payroll in your payroll system. Even if you process your payroll early, ProgramPay won't process the contributions file before the actual scheduled pay date. 
• Employee Status Changes - ProgramPay Portal
  • When you add, rehire, or terminate employees in your payroll system, the changes will be reflected in the ProgramPay portal one business day after the next pay date. 

Will Paychex Flex charge me any fees to set up and/or maintain Payroll Concierge? 

Paychex Flex may charge fees in conjunction with the integration. Please check with your Paychex Flex representative for more specific details.

ProgramPay will not charge you to facilitate this integration.

How do I disconnect Payroll Concierge? 

If you change payroll providers, it is your responsibility to inform us so that we can terminate the Payroll Concierge Service and assess whether integration with a different payroll provider is available. Please see this article and reach out to your Voya Representative for further assistance.