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 responsibilities to make sure the content is correct. Please read this whole article to understand the steps to set up Payroll Concierge services and to learn about your initial and ongoing responsibilities.
Is My Version of ADP Compatible With the Integration?
ADP offers several ADP Run products, but not all are covered by Payroll Concierge services. As the wholesale version of ADP Run does not have Accountant Connect, it is not supported. Please make sure your retail ADP Run account has Accountant Connect prior to setup request.
Please note that the ADP Run integration will only allow employees to elect deferrals in percentages; dollar-amount deferrals will not be an option.
How do I initiate Payroll Concierge?
We are no longer supporting new plans via Payroll Concierge. Please visit our new ADP Integration page for instructions on how to connect to the integration.
Important Special Considerations
Special Considerations - Safe Harbor contributions and hourly workers: Due to the way your payroll provider stores & calculates Safe Harbor (SH) contributions, Vestwell may not be able to accurately facilitate the SH contribution for employees that are paid on an hourly basis, have different compensation amounts from pay period to pay period AND requests a dollar-based amount for their deferral. In this scenario, we recommend that the employee use a percentage based deferral rate.
Special Consideration - Dollar-based deferral rates: The ProgramPay team recommends that employees set percentage based deferral rates with Concierge services. Dollar-based deferral rates may result in the need to update the employees safe harbor contribution formula. This cannot be done systemically with Concierge Services and the employer is responsible for setting and maintaining an appropriate Safe Harbor contribution rate when dollar-based deferrals are in use.
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?
In order to provide our Payroll Concierge services, we need the ability to view and download information relating to your Plan. 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 responsibilities?
Our ability to set up Payroll Concierge Services and successfully process your payroll and deferral change files on behalf of your plan depends on you! It is your responsibility to:
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Continue to process payrolls via your payroll provider platform
- Please be sure that the ProgramPay deferral codes and rates are present prior to processing your first integrated payroll.
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Pay Groups - Ensure that pay groups have the same name and schedule/frequency in both ProgramPay and your payroll system.
- Note: 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.
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Employee Deferral Rate Management
- ProgramPay does use the rates set by your employees via online enrollment and the participant website when initiating a new payroll integration. Employers should review rates and encourage employees to review and update their rates in the participant website while payroll integration is being implemented.
- For the best experience, on an ongoing basis, be sure your employees are setting and maintaining their deferral rates via Voya participant website. Rates sent via online enrollment and the participant website will flow automatically into ProgramPay.
- Any employee deferral rates shared directly with you, not using the Voya’s participant website by eligible employees must be set by you directly in the payroll system. However, for the best outcomes, please redirect employees to set their rates in the participant website
- Deferral rates set by employees in the participant website by 4PM ET on any given business day will be available in ProgramPay the following business day by approximately 8AM.
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Employee Loans
- If applicable to your plan, set up and maintain retirement loans within your payroll system
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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.
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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.
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Employee Status Changes
- Make updates in your payroll system when employees are hired, terminated, or re-hired, etc.
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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.
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Pay Frequency/Schedule Changes
- Report any pay frequency or pay schedule changes to ProgramPay.
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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.
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Validation Errors on Payrolls
- From time to time, we may receive data from your payroll company that triggers a validation error in ProgramPay and we are unable to process one or more contributions or loan payments. When that happens, you will be alerted by email about the issue with instructions on next steps to resolve the issue. These alerts will be sent from "ProgramPay@notices.vestwell.com". Please adjust spam or other filters in your email system to allow you to receive these important communications. You can learn more about the contribution validations and the types of errors that can occur here.
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Miscellaneous Service & Support
- Monitor for emails from the ProgramPay Employer Services team at VoyaABA@vestwell.com and respond to questions and outreach in a timely manner.
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Off-Cycle 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?
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Payroll Deduction Codes
- ProgramPay will set up and maintain certain payroll deduction codes within your payroll system. Do not edit these codes once they are set up.
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Processing Contributions & Loan Payments
- Process supported employee/employer contributions and applicable loan payments into your retirement plan based on what was processed in the payroll system. Even if you process your payroll early, ProgramPay will never process the contributions file before the actual pay date.
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Per pay period Safe Harbor employer contribution
- ProgramPay will set up and maintain mandatory employer contributions that are on a pay period basis and were reported in the Payroll Integration Request Form.
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Employee Deferral Management
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ProgramPay will set employee deferral rates in your payroll system if they were set by the employee via Voya’s online enrollment and deferral management tools in the participant website prior to your first integrated pay date.
- Please do not process your first integrated payroll before this step is completed.
- Deferral rates set by employees directly in Voya’s participant website will be updated automatically within 2 business days.
- NOTE: Any deferral changes shared by eligible employees directly with you, not using the Voya participant website, must be set by you directly in the payroll system. For the best outcomes, please direct employees to maintain their deferral rates within the participant website.
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ProgramPay will set employee deferral rates in your payroll system if they were set by the employee via Voya’s online enrollment and deferral management tools in the participant website prior to your first integrated pay date.
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Employee Status Changes
- 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 my payroll provider charge me any fees to set up and/or maintain Payroll Concierge?
Your payroll provider may charge fees in conjunction with the integration. Please check with your representative with your payroll provider for more specific details.
ProgramPay will not charge you to facilitate this integration.
How do I disconnect Payroll Concierge Services?
If you change payroll providers, terminate or deconvert your plan, 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.