United States 

Office of 

Personnel Management 

The Federal Government’s Human Resources Agency

Benefits Administration Letter 

Number: 06-601 (Originally Published as 06-203) Date: March 27, 2006

Subject: BENEFEDS Portal 

Background 

There is a new enrollment and payroll/billing administration system for voluntary benefits 

programs, called the BENEFEDS Portal. Voluntary benefits are those in which there is no 

Government contribution, and include the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program 

(FLTCIP), the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS), and beginning 

December 2006, the new Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP). 

We are implementing the BENEFEDS portal to simplify the voluntary benefits enrollment 

process and to ease the administrative burden on payroll providers. This Benefits Administration 

Letter (BAL) explains how the BENEFEDS Portal will work and the timetable for its full 

implementation. Because we have not yet chosen dental or vision carriers, it is possible a few 

details in this BAL may change. However, we wanted to get you as much information as we 

know at this point. We will communicate any changes to the information provided here as soon 

as they are known. 

What the BENEFEDS Portal will do 

The BENEFEDS Portal will be a one-stop shop for most employees and annuitants to enroll in 

FEDVIP and for employees to enroll in FSAFEDS, as applicable (employees of agencies that do 

not participate in FSAFEDS will still use the BENEFEDS Portal to enroll in FEDVIP). There 

are two major components: an enrollment website, and a payroll/billing administration system. 

When fully functional, the BENEFEDS Portal will: 

• Administer a web-based enrollment (which will be Section 508-compliant for the 

visually impaired), including any changes to those enrollments made as a result of 

a Qualifying Life Event (QLE); 

• Notify carriers of enrollments, including demographic and dependent information; 

• Request payroll or annuity deductions for enrollees from agency payroll 

providers/annuity systems. 
• Calculate deduction amounts for the FEDVIP. FSAFEDS and FLTCIP deduction 

amounts will be calculated by the respective carriers and communicated to the 

BENEFEDS Portal. 

• Remit deductions and enrollee identifying information to carriers and reconcile 

discrepancies; 

• Take action with payroll providers and employees/annuitants to resolve instances 

in which requested deductions were not remitted; 

• Staff a teleservice center to answer enrollment and billing questions and refer 

benefit questions to the appropriate carrier. 

Advantages of the BENEFEDS Portal 

The BENEFEDS Portal provides one convenient place for employees and annuitants to go to 

enroll in a dental plan, a vision plan, and FSAFEDS (employees only). Having one standard 

enrollment system for these programs simplifies enrollment for the employee/annuitant and 

eliminates the cost of duplicative enrollment systems by numerous carriers. The 

employee/annuitant will only have to provide their demographic information one time to enroll 

for any one or more of the programs. The employee/annuitant’s personal information and plan 

selections are stored securely and can be accessed by the employee/annuitant at any time with a 

secure login and password. The employee/annuitant can access the BENEFEDS Portal online to: 

• enroll in one or more of the programs 

• update personal information, such as a change in address and/or employing 

agency 

• make permissible changes in enrollment throughout the year, such as a 

Qualifying Life Event (QLE) 

• make open season changes 

• view and/or download informational material for the voluntary benefits programs 

Another major advantage of the BENEFEDS Portal is it simplifies the process for agency payroll 

providers/retirement systems by offering a single point of contact. Instead of interfacing with 

several dental carriers, vision carriers, SHPS, and Long Term Care Partners to administer the 

payroll/annuity deduction process for each program, most agency payroll/annuity providers will 

interface only with the BENEFEDS Portal for all programs. 

The BENEFEDS Portal administrator 

Long Term Care Partners, the FLTCIP administrator, is administering the BENEFEDS Portal, 

with OPM oversight. 

- 2 - 
Payment for the BENEFEDS Portal 

The cost of the BENEFEDS Portal will be spread among the benefits programs the Portal 

supports. For FSAFEDS, the cost will be incorporated into the FSAFEDS fees paid by the 

agencies. For FEDVIP and FLTCIP, the costs of the Portal will be treated the same as any other 

administrative costs of running the programs. 

Timetable for implementation 

The BENEFEDS Portal is rolling out in three phases. The first phase became operational during 

the FSAFEDS 2005 open season for the 2006 plan year. The second phase of the BENEFEDS 

Portal will be operational in time for the FEDVIP 2006 open season for the 2007 plan year. The 

third phase of the BENEFEDS Portal will be operational in time for the FSAFEDS 2007 open 

season for the 2008 plan year. 

Beginning in the second phase, the BENEFEDS Portal will provide a link to the Federal Long 

Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) website for employees and/or annuitants that wish to 

apply for coverage under the FLTCIP. The FLTCIP will not be a part of the BENEFEDS Portal 

enrollment system, because its application process is much different than the FEDVIP and 

FSAFEDS enrollment processes. 

Phase I 

The BENEFEDS Portal is requesting FSAFEDS participant allotments and receiving allotment 

payment detail from agency payroll providers, and transmitting reconciliation files to SHPS, the 

FSAFEDS administrator. Long Term Care Partners worked closely with agency payroll 

providers over the last several months to ensure this cutover to the BENEFEDS Portal went 

smoothly. The only difference for agency payroll providers is they now receive billing files 

from the BENEFEDS Portal instead of from SHPS. In turn, payroll providers send payment files 

to the BENEFEDS Portal and remittances directly to SHPS. BENEFEDS Portal staff work 

directly with agency payroll providers to resolve allotment questions and errors. 

BENEFEDS Portal staff also communicates with FSAFEDS enrollees via email and phone when 

necessary to clear up questions or problems with their enrollments. To ensure employees 

receive these important emails on a timely basis, please make sure your IT/Email/Internet 

departments have set up the following domain as "safe" and accepted, and never blocked: 

BENEFEDS.com. 

Please note the enrollment process for FSAFEDS has not changed for 2006 and will not 

change for the 2007 plan year. Eligible employees still enroll via the FSAFEDS website at 

www.fsafeds.com. 

Phase II 

During the 2006 open season for the 2007 plan year, all FEDVIP enrollments will originate at 

the BENEFEDS Portal. 

- 3 - 
New and Newly Eligible Employees 

Once Phase II becomes operational, new and newly eligible employees who wish to enroll in the 

FEDVIP must do so by accessing the BENEFEDS Portal within the first 60 days of their 

eligibility. 

FEDVIP Enrollment 

Enrollment in a FEDVIP plan will take place through the secure BENEFEDS Portal website. 

Employees and annuitants will be able to enroll online at the BENEFEDS Portal website. Those 

who do not have access to the Internet will be able to enroll by calling the BENEFEDS Portal 

toll-free and speaking with a customer service representative. 

Enrollment will take place exclusively on the BENEFEDS Portal website, not through any of the 

employee self-service personnel/payroll systems, such as Employee Express, EBIS, Employee 

Personal Page, or MyPay. However, we strongly recommend placing a link from these sites and 

agency intranet sites to the BENEFEDS Portal, as it would help to facilitate enrollment. 

During the FEDVIP enrollment process, employees/annuitants must provide several key pieces 

of information, including: 

• His/her demographic information, including name, residence address, 

correspondence address, phone numbers, email address, social security number 

(SSN), date of birth, and gender 

• His/her agency (for employees) or annuity office and annuity claim number if 

applicable (for annuitants). They will be required to self-certify their eligibility 

for coverage under the programs. This eligibility is confirmed by the successful 

completion of a payroll or annuity deduction 

• The dental and/or vision plan they wish to enroll in (including the type of 

enrollment – self only, self plus one or self plus family) 

• If applicable, dependent information 

• If applicable, FEHB plan (for coordination of benefits) 

• If applicable, whether or not they want to accelerate their premium deductions 

(for seasonal employees, teachers, etc.). 

Once the employee/annuitant selects coverage and provides all of the requested information, 

he/she submits that information to the BENEFEDS Portal and receives a confirmation of the 

submission from the BENEFEDS Portal. This is not a confirmation of enrollment in any plan, 

but confirms the BENEFEDS Portal received the enrollment request. The BENEFEDS Portal 

then sends this information to the dental/vision carriers. It is the dental/vision carriers’ 

responsibility to send final confirmation of enrollment, ID cards, etc. to enrollees. 

Employees/annuitants with no Internet access who cannot enroll by phone can apply using a 

paper application they send to the BENEFEDS Portal. However, anyone with Internet access 

- 4 - 
and/or ability to enroll on the phone should not enroll via paper. The distribution and use of 

paper applications should be rare. Therefore, paper applications should not be made generally 

available to employees and should not be posted on an agency intranet or self-service 

personnel/payroll system. 

We will provide more information at a later date, including the website address, the toll-free 

phone number, and distribution of the paper application. 

FEDVIP Dependents 

The BENEFEDS Portal will collect information on eligible dependents and forward it to dental 

and vision carriers under the FEDVIP. Employees/annuitants will self-certify that the 

dependents they have enrolled are eligible. This includes a spouse, children, stepchildren, foster 

children, and children age 22 or over who are incapable of self-support because of a physical or 

mental condition which existed before age 22. The dental or vision carrier has the right to 

request documentation of a dependent’s eligibility from the enrollee, and the enrollee has 60 

days in which to provide that documentation. If no documentation is received within that 

timeframe, the carrier will instruct the BENEFEDS Portal to disenroll the dependent. 

In most cases, the documentation the carriers will be looking for is the documentation required 

for a dependent’s FEHB coverage, as outlined in the FEHB Handbook at 

http://www.opm.gov/insure/handbook/fehb28.asp. For example, to confirm eligibility, the 

carrier will expect to see the Certification for Foster Children that has been approved by the 

employing office. For a determination of incapacity for self-support for a child over age 22, do 

not send the carrier all medical documentation used. Approval for continued coverage, including 

the length of approval, is all that is necessary. 

If an employee asks you for a copy of a certification or approval from his/her Official Personnel 

Folder, please provide it as quickly as possible to avoid cancellation of coverage. 

FEDVIP Qualified Life Events 

Because FEDVIP premiums will be pre-tax, employees can only make changes to a FEDVIP 

enrollment outside of an open season when there is a qualified life event (QLE). Employees 

must access the BENEFEDS Portal to make permitted changes. Validations are in place to 

ensure the QLE is consistent with OPM regulations. Alternatively, an enrollee can call a 

BENEFEDS Portal customer service representative who will make the QLE change for the 

enrollee over the telephone. 

The BENEFEDS Portal calculates a new premium (if applicable) and displays it to the enrollee. 

Upon acceptance by the enrollee, these changes, including the new enrollment code, are sent to 

the carrier. If the change affects payroll deductions, the new amount will be communicated to 

the payroll location on the next bill file. 

- 5 - 
Phase III 

During the summer of 2007, enrollment in the FSAFEDS program will be made available on the 

BENEFEDS Portal. 

New and Newly Eligible Employees

Once Phase III becomes operational, new and newly eligible employees who wish to enroll in 

the FSAFEDS program must do so by accessing the BENEFEDS Portal within the first 60 days 

of their eligibility. 

FSAFEDS Enrollment 

During the 2007 open season for the 2008 plan year, all FSAFEDS enrollments will originate at 

the BENEFEDS Portal. 

Employees will enroll in the FSAFEDS program by going directly to the BENEFEDS Portal. 

They will enter their demographic information at the Portal and will be transferred seamlessly to 

the FSAFEDS website to complete the enrollment process. 

Employees wishing to change their enrollment due to a qualified life event will do so by calling 

the FSAFEDS toll free number. 

Premium administration process 

The BENEFEDS Portal will be responsible for all functions related to payroll/annuity billing and 

payment processing for FEDVIP* and FLTCIP**, as they have already been doing for 

FSAFEDS**. This includes generating and sending the billing files to agencies and retirement 

systems, resolving billing errors, sending direct bills when necessary, processing and reconciling 

payments, and managing employment status changes. Please see Attachment 1 for sample file 

layouts and related business rules. 

* FEDVIP deduction amounts will be calculated by the BENEFEDS Portal. 

** FSAFEDS and FLTCIP allotment/deduction amounts will be calculated by the respective 

carriers and communicated to the BENEFEDS Portal. 

Security measures in place

Our contract with the BENEFEDS Portal contains a “Disclosure of Information” clause. This 

clause requires Long Term Care Partners, as the BENEFEDS Portal administrator, may only use 

and divulge the information it receives for the purposes of administering the contract. 

Disclosure of such information for any other purpose subjects the offender to criminal sanctions. 

The BENEFEDS Portal makes extensive use of Information Technology (computers, 

applications, communication mechanism, etc.). Please see Attachment 2 for detailed information 

on the security procedures and systems in place to protect the data gathered and stored on the 

BENEFEDS Portal. 

The BENEFEDS Portal is working with intelligence agencies to meet any special security needs 

they may have. 

- 6 - 
Questions 

Please direct questions on agency payroll provider interfaces with the BENEFEDS Portal to 

Keith Leader, Director of Administration, Long Term Care Partners, at 603-433-4550 or 

kleader@ltcpartners.com. 

If you have any other questions about the BENEFEDS Portal, please contact Laura Lawrence 

and her staff on (202) 606-1413 or Benefedsportal@opm.gov. 

Robert F. Danbeck 

 Associate Director 

 for Human Resources Products and Services 

Attachment 1: FEDVIP File Layouts and Associated Business Rules 

Attachment 2: BENEFEDS Portal Security 

- 7 - 
ATTACHMENT 1 

FEDVIP FILE LAYOUTS AND ASSOCIATED BUSINESS RULES 

DENTAL AND VISION REQUIREMENTS 

BILLING FILE LAYOUT 

 The BENEFEDS Portal will: 

3⁄4 perform all the necessary edits including the FEHB eligibility edit 

3⁄4 capture and store the enrollment code and enrollment type 

3⁄4 capture and store the carrier information 

3⁄4 store the premium table 

 Required fields to be loaded to the APO’s system are listed in the Billing File Layout. 

 Any pre-tax premium deducted by the APO that needs to be refunded to an enrollee will be refunded by the 

current APO. This refund will be communicated via the billing file and/or an agreed upon format such as an 

Excel spreadsheet. 

 The BENEFEDS Portal will automatically renew the enrollment for all active enrollees. Payroll/Annuity 

locations that elected update file format will only receive updates upon renewal. Payroll/Annuity locations that 

elected full file format will continue to receive a full file. 

The Layout below represents an update file. 

RECFM = FB 

LRECL = 120 

Estimated Number of Records = This file will contain one header record and one trailer record. It may 

contain multiple detail records per employee (1 = Vision and/or 1 = Dental). 

Header Record 

Posn Description Picture Value/Format 

01-01 Record Type X(1) ‘1’

02-09 Payroll Office Number X(8)

10-17 Creation Date X(8) CCYYMMDD

18-89 Description X(72) VBP Dental and 

Vision Bill file to 

<APO Name> 

90-120 Filler X(31)
- 2 - 

Detail Record. 

Posn Description Picture Value/Format 

01-01 Record Type X(1) ‘2’

02-09 Employee Location X(8)

10-17 Pay Period Start Date X(8) CCYYMMDD

18-26 Employee SSN X(9)

27-27 Filler X(1)

28-57 Employee Last Name X(30) 

58-87 Employee First Name X(30) 

88-88 Employee Middle 

Initial 

X(1) 

89-89 Action Code X(1) 

90-91 Option Code X(2) 

92-98 Pay Period Premium X(7) 9(5)V99 

99-105 Refund Amount X(7) 9(5)V99

106-106 Taxable Indicator X(1) 

107-120 Filler X(14) 

Trailer Record. 

Posn Description Picture Value/Format 

01-01 Record Type X(1) ‘3’

02-08 Total Records X(7) 9(7)

09-17 Total Amount X(9)

18-120 Filler X(103)
- 3 - 

Billing File Data Element Definition 

Data Element Definition 

Record Type Identifies the record format. 

 Values: 

 ‘1’ – Indicates Header Record Format 

 ‘2’ – Indicates Detail Record Format 

 ‘3’ – Indicates Trailer Record Format 

Payroll Office Number This field identifies the Payroll Office that services the 

employees pay records. 

Employee Location This field identifies the current employee location within 

the payroll office. 

DFAS = Payroll Office Number 

NFC = Department code + Agency code + 4 zeros 

DOI = Employee location + 4 blank spaces 

GSA = 2/3 digit Agency code + 5/6 blank spaces 

All others = 8 digit Payroll Office Number 

Creation Date This is the date that the file was created. 

Description Contains a description of Entity that created the files and 

location to be transmitted. 

Pay Period Start Date First day of the Pay period. 

Employee SSN Field will contain Social Security Number (SSN) of the 

Employee. 

Employee Name Field containing the name of the employee. 

DFAS = A 

Action Code A code to identify type of change to be processed. 

 Values: 

 ‘A’ – Add action 

 ‘C’ – Change action 

 ‘D’ – Delete action 

 ‘N’ – No Change (for full file layouts and if 

refund is being passed) 

 ‘R’ – Refund only 

DENTAL or VISION 

Option Code 

A code to identify the Vision or Dental program. 

Values: 

‘JF’ = DENTAL 

‘JG’ = VISION 

‘JH’ = COMBO 

DENTAL OR VISION 

Pay Period Premium 

The amount to be deducted for the Dental or Vision 

Premium for the selected option. 
- 4 - 

Refund Amount Amount to be refunded to the employee. (Absolute value). 

Taxable Indicator The indicator sent determines if the employee has selected 

non-taxable or taxable for the Dental or Vision option. 

Total Records Total number of records submitted on the file, not including 

the header and trailer records. 

Total Amount Total amount of the all the records included in the total 

record field. 
- 5 - 

PAYMENT FILE LAYOUT 

 All fields listed in the Payment File Layout are required unless specified in the Data Element definition. 

Record Length: 120 

Estimated Number of Records = This file will contain one header record and one trailer record. It may 

contain multiple detail records per employee (1 = Vision and/or 1 = Dental). 

Header Record. 

Posn Description Picture Value/Format 

01-01 Record Type X(1) ‘1’

02-09 Payroll Office Number X(8)

10-17 Creation Date X(8) CCYYMMDD

18-89 Description X(72)

90-97 Pay Period Start Date X(8) CCYYMMDD

98-120 Filler X(23)

Detail Record. 

Posn Description Picture Value/Format 

01-01 Record Type X(1) ‘2’

02-10 Employee SSN X(9)

11-11 Filler X(1) CCYYMMDD

12-41 Employee Last Name X(30)

42-71 Employee First Name X(30)

72-72 Employee Middle 

Initial

X(1) 

73-74 Option Code X(2)

75-81 Deduction Amount X(7) S9(5)V99

82-89 Employee Location X(8)

90-97 Gaining Pro Number X(8)

98-105 Status Date X(8)

106-106 Status Code X(1)

107-115 Old SSN X(9)

116-117 Filler X(2)

118-119 Lose/Gain Department X(2)

120-120 Filler X(1)

 Trailer Record. 

Posn Description Picture Value/Format 

01-01 Record Type X(1) ‘3’

02-08 Total Records X(7) 9(7)

09-17 Total Amount X(9)

18-120 Filler X(103)
- 6 - 

Payment File Data Element Definition 

Data Element Definition 

Record Type Identifies the record format. 

 Values: 

 ‘1’ – Indicates Header Record Format 

 ‘2’ – Indicates Detail Record Format 

 ‘3’ – Indicates Trailer Record Format 

Payroll Office 

Number 

This field identifies the Payroll Office that services the 

employees pay records. 

Creation Date This is the date the file was created (8-position System 

Date). Format CCYYMMDD 

Description Contains a description of Entity that created the files and 

location to be transmitted. 

Pay Period Start 

Date 

First day of the pay period. 

Employee SSN Field will contain Social Security Number (SSN) of the 

Employee. 

Employee Name Field containing the name of the employee. MI is optional.

DFAS = A 

Option Code A code to identify the Vision or Dental program. 

Values: 

‘JF’ = DENTAL 

‘JG’ = VISION 

‘JH’ = COMBO 

Deduction Amount Amount deducted for the employee. 

Gaining Pro 

Number 

DFAS = (New) Payroll Office Number 

NFC = (New) Department code + Agency code + payroll 

office identifier 

DOI = (New) Employee location + 4 blank spaces 

GSA = (New)2/3 digit Agency code + 5/6 blank spaces 

All others = (New)8 digit Payroll Office Number 

Recommended with Status Code = ‘X’ 
- 7 - 

Employee Location This field identifies the employee location within the 

payroll office that corresponds with the deduction amount. 

DFAS = Agency Code + Major Claimant Code + Payroll 

Office Number 

NFC = Department Code + Agency code + payroll office 

identifier 

DOI = Employee location + 4 blank spaces 

GSA = 2/3 digit Agency code + 5/6 blank spaces 

All others = 8 digit Payroll Office Number 

Status Date This will be the date that the following status code was 

effective. 

Status Code This is a code that will indicate the status of the employee 

being reported on the file. 

 ‘D’ = Deceased 

 ‘X’ = Transferred 

 ‘T’ = Terminated 

 ‘R’ = Retired 

 ‘C’ = Terminated/Retired 

 ‘F’ = D2D (DFAS Mass Transfer) 

 ‘I’ = Insuff. Funds (not DFAS) ⎫ Enrollees with these 

 ‘L’ = Leave w/o Pay ⎬ 3 statuses will remain 

 ‘S’ = Seasonal Teacher ⎭ active in payroll system. 

The field will be set to a space if none of these codes 

apply. 

Old SSN If the employee’s SSN has changed, this will be the 

previous SSN, Future use for Pseudo SSN ) 

Lose/Gain 

Department 

This is the 2 character code that indicates what payroll 

provider the employee transferred to. DFAS and GSA do 

not store this field in their database. 

Total Records Total number of Detail records submitted. The header 

record and the trailer record will not be included in the 

total record count. 

Total Amount This is the total amount of the JF, JG and JH premium 

deductions for all the detail records on the file. 
- 8 - 

ERROR FILE LAYOUT 

RECFM = FB 

LRECL = 120 

Estimated Number of Records = This file will contain one header record and one trailer record. It may 

contain multiple detail records per employee (1 = Vision and/or 1 = Dental). 

Header Record. 

Posn Description Picture Value/Format 

01-01 Record Type X(1) ‘1’

02-09 Payroll Office Number X(8)

10-17 Creation Date X(8) CCYYMMDD

18-89 Description X(72)

90-120 Filler X(31)

Detail Record. 

Posn Description Picture Value/Format 

01-01 Record Type X(1) ‘2’

02-10 Employee SSN X(9)

11-11 Filler X(1)

12-72 Employee Name X(61) Last X(30), First X(30), MI X(1)

73-74 Option Code X(2)

75-82 Pay Period Start Date X(8) CCYYMMDD

83-83 Error/Reason Code X(1)

84-91 Status Date X(8)

92-99 Gaining PRO Number X(8)

100-100 Taxable indicator X(1)

101-120 Filler X(20)

Trailer Record. 

Posn Description Picture Value/Format 

01-01 Record Type X(1) ‘3’

02-08 Total Records 9(7)

09-120 Filler X(112) 

 
- 9 - 

Error File Data Element Definition 

Data Element Definition 

Record Type Identifies the record format. 

 Values: 

 ‘1’ – Indicates Header Record Format 

 ‘2’ – Indicates Detail Record Format 

 ‘3’ – Indicates Trailer Record Format 

Payroll Office Number This field identifies the Payroll Office that services 

the employees pay records. 

Creation Date This is the date that the file was created (8-position 

System Date). Format CCYYMMDD 

Description Contains a description of Entity that created the files 

and location to be transmitted. 

Employee SSN Field will contain Social Security Number (SSN) of 

the Employee. 

Employee Name Field containing the name of the employee. 

DFAS – Employee name will equal ‘A’. 

Option Code A code to identify the Vision or Dental program. 

Values: 

‘JF’ = DENTAL 

‘JG’ = VISION 

‘JH’ = COMBO 

Pay Period Start Date First day of the pay period. 

Error/Reason Code This is a code that identifies the reason that the 

employee’s transaction was rejected. 

‘D’ = Deceased 

‘E’ = Effective Date Invalid 

‘G’ = Deduction Already Exists 

‘I” = Invalid employee location 

‘T’ = Terminated 

‘J’ = Deduction Exists under other Option 

‘R’ = Retired 

‘A’ = Invalid SSN 

‘H’ = No Deduction on File 

‘X’ = Transferred 

‘P’ = SSN and Agency Mismatch 

‘Z’ = Unspecified 

‘C’ = Terminated/Retired 

‘M’ = Invalid Amount 

‘N’ = No refund Amount 
- 10 - 

Status Date This is the date the employee separated, retired, or 

was deceased. This field is only valid when the 

Error/Reason Code is ‘C’, ‘D’, or ‘X’. 

Gaining PRO Number DFAS = Payroll Office Number 

NFC = Department Code + Agency code + payroll 

office identifier 

DOI = Employee location + 4 blank spaces 

GSA = 2/3 digit Agency code + 5/6 blank spaces 

All others = 8 digit Payroll Office Number 

Will only be present when the Error/Reason Code is 

equal ‘X’. 

Taxable Indicator The indicator sent that determines if the employee 

has selected non-taxable or taxable for the Dental or 

Vision option. 
- 11 - 

PRE-NOTE BUSINESS RULES 

 The Portal will send Pre-Note file that payroll provider will use to compare and retrieve statuses from all 

databases. 

 Payroll provider will search each record using SSN, Agency Code/PON and DOB. 

 Payroll provider will prepare and send to the Portal a Pre-Note Return file that will contain records for 

every enrollee passed on the Pre-Note file. If the enrollee is actively employed, a return code of ‘V’, for 

Validated, will be returned. If the enrollee is inactive or invalid, the appropriate return code will be passed 

providing the reason and, if available, a date of inactivation will be provided. In addition, if the Portal 

passed an incorrect Agency Code/PON, the correct Agency Code/PON will be provided by the APO. 

Pre-Note File Layout 

Header Record 

Posn Description Picture Value/Format 

01-01 Record Type X(1) ‘1’

02-09 Payroll Office Number X(8) 

10-17 Creation Date X(8) CCYYMMDD 

18-89 Description X(72) 

90-120 Filler X(31) 

Detail Record. 

Posn Description Picture Value/Format 

01-01 Record Type X(1) ‘1’

02-10 Employee SSN X(9) 

11-18 Employee DOB X(8) CCYYMMDD 

19-26 Employee Location X(8) 

27-120 Filler X(94) 

Trailer Record. 

Posn Description Picture Value/Format 

01-01 Record Type X(1) ‘1’

02-08 Total Records X(7) 9(7) 

09-120 Filler X(112) 
- 12 - 

Data Element Definition. 

Data Element Definition 

Record Type Identifies the record format. 

 Values: 

 ‘1’ – Indicates Header Record Format 

 ‘2’ – Indicates Detail Record Format 

 ‘3’ – Indicates Trailer Record Format 

Payroll Office Number This field identifies the Payroll Office that services 

the employees pay records. 

Creation Date This is the date that the file was created. 

Description Contains a description of Entity that created the files 

and location to be transmitted. 

Employee SSN Field will contain Social Security Number (SSN) of 

the Employee. 

Employee DOB Field will contain the Date of Birth of the Employee. 

(Mandatory for NFC) 

Employee Location DFAS = Last 4 of Payroll Office Number (Right 

justified) 

NFC = Department Code + Agency code + payroll 

office identifier 

DOI = Employee location + 4 blank spaces 

GSA = 2/3 digit Agency code + 5/6 blank spaces 
- 13 - 

Pre-Note Return File Layout 

Header Record. 

Posn Description Picture Value/Format 

01-01 Record Type X(1) ‘1’

02-09 Creation Date X(8) CCYYMMDD 

10-81 Description X(72) 

82-120 Filler X(39) 

Detail Record. 

Posn Description Picture Value/Format 

01-01 Record Type X(1) ‘2’

02-10 Employee SSN X(9) 

11-26 Employee Last Name X(16) 

27-45 Employee First Name X(19) 

46-46 Return Code X(1) 

47-54 Correct Employee 

Location 

X(8) 

55-62 Inactivation Date X(8) CCYYMMDD 

63-120 Filler X(66) 

Trailer Record. 

Posn Description Picture Value/Format 

01-01 Record Type X(1) ‘3’

02-08 Total Records X(7) 9(7) 

09-120 Filler X(112) 
- 14 - 

Data Element Definition. 

Data Element Definition 

Record Type Identifies the record format. 

 Values: 

 ‘1’ – Indicates Header Record Format 

 ‘2’ – Indicates Detail Record Format 

 ‘3’ – Indicates Trailer Record Format 

Creation Date This is the date that the file was created. 

Description Contains a description of Entity that created the files 

and location to be transmitted. 

Employee SSN Field will contain Social Security Number (SSN) of 

the Employee. 

Last Name Employee Last Name 

First Name Employee First Name 

Return Code Field will contain the following Reason Codes for 

the return Pre-Note, 

V – Validated (Active) 

D – Deceased 

X – Transferred 

T – Terminated 

R – Retired 

E – Invalid Agency Code 

A – Invalid SSN 

C – Terminated/Retired 

S – Seasonal Teacher 

Correct Employee 

Location 

DFAS = Agency Code + Major Claimant Code + 

Payroll Office Number 

NFC = Department Code + Agency code + payroll 

office identifier 

DOI = Employee location + 4 blank spaces 

GSA = 2/3 digit Agency code + 5/6 blank spaces 

All others = Payroll Office Number 

Inactivation Date Date the employee terminated, retired, or transferred 

OR the Date of death. 
- 15 - 

EDITS FOR DENTAL / VISION 

Bill File Edits: (Edits performed during the loading of the bill file) 

Edit Return Code 

3⁄4 Invalid SSN ‘A’ 

3⁄4 Deceased ‘D’ 

3⁄4 Invalid Effective Date ‘E’ 

3⁄4 Deduction Already Exists ‘G’ 

3⁄4 No Deduction on File ‘H’ 

3⁄4 Invalid Employee Location (code doesn’t 

exist) 

‘I’ 

3⁄4 Deduction Exists under Other Option Code 

 - Add for JF if JH deduction exists 

 - Add for JG if JH deduction exists 

 - Add for JH if JF and/or JG 

 deduction exists 

‘J’ 

3⁄4 Invalid Amount ‘M’ 

3⁄4 SSN / Employee Location Mismatch ‘P’ 

3⁄4 Retired ‘R’ 

3⁄4 Terminated or Separated ‘T’ 

3⁄4 Transferred ‘X’ 

3⁄4 Invalid Payroll Office Number (Use 

Unspecified) 

‘Z’ 

3⁄4 Invalid Action Code (Not ‘A’, ’C’, or ‘D’) 

(Use Unspecified) 

‘Z’ 

3⁄4 Invalid Option Code (Not ‘JF’, ‘JG’, or 

‘JH’)(Use Unspecified) 

‘Z’ 

3⁄4 Terminated/Retired ‘C’ 

3⁄4 Action Code of ‘A’, Add, with 0.00 

Deduction Amount 

‘B’ 

3⁄4 Action Code of ‘D’, Delete, with a 

Deduction Amount 

‘K’ 

3⁄4 Action Code of ‘R’, with no refund 

amount 

‘N’ 

Common Bill File Edits that should not be included. 

3⁄4 FEHB Eligibility Edit 
- 16 - 

Payment File Edits: (Edits performed for ongoing deductions) 

Edit Return Code 

3⁄4 Deceased ‘D’ 

3⁄4 Retired ‘R’ 

3⁄4 Terminated ‘T’ 

3⁄4 Transferred ‘X’ 

3⁄4 Insufficient Funds 

 - Deduction is all or none per option 

 (Not passed by DFAS) 

‘I’ 

3⁄4 Leave w/out Pay ‘L’ 

3⁄4 Seasonal Teacher ‘S’ 

3⁄4 D2D (DFAS Mass Transfer) ‘F’ 

Common Payment File Edits that should not be included. 

3⁄4 Close at the end of the year* (Deductions should roll into following year) 
ATTACHMENT 2 

BENEFEDS PORTAL SECURITY 

Online enrollment process security 

The key security features that are built into the online enrollment process are: 

• Authentication - Users are allowed to access the application after successful 

login. 

• Encryption - Sensitive information like password, SSN, etc. is stored and 

transmitted in an encrypted form. The application will be accessible only via 

HTTPS protocol. 

• Access Control – The application is arranged based on business function 

groups and can only be accessed by people who belong to those groups. On a 

successful login, the users will be allowed to perform limited functions based 

on the group they belong to. 

• Session Handling – the application implements session management. Idle 

sessions (inactive for 30 minutes) will time-out. The application recognizes 

and processes only those requests that are invoked during an active session. 

In addition, the application is housed in a robust network environment that consists of 

two levels of firewalls, load balancers, switches, etc. equipped with intrusion prevention 

mechanism. All BENEFEDS Portal applications reside in AS/400 environment and the 

data is stored in DB2/400, an integral part of OS400 operating system. 

Database Security 

• Confidentiality is assured with the kind of authorization levels and user 

categorizations that access the DB2/400 environment. The database server is 

secured behind the network and firewall layers. 

• Integrity is assured by the completeness and accuracy of information and its 

processing methods. 

• Availability is ensured by the fail over mechanism that’s part of the network 

model and also by frequent data back-ups.
Transmission Security 

All FTP transmissions are routed through a secured FTP Server on a private local 

network. This server only allows connections from pre-defined IP hosts. All file 

transfers are made through encrypted VPN, FTP, SSL or SSH connections that are 

filtered by network and application layer firewalls, as well as intrusion 

detection/prevention appliances. A non-disclosure agreement with all providers adds to 

the confidentiality of data that is handled.

Questions? 

Please direct questions regarding BENEFEDS Portal security to Doug Ridge, Director of 

Information Technology, Long Term Care Partners, at 603-433-4504 or 

dridge@ltcpartners.com

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