When a request for a benefit calculation is received, oftentimes it comes with additional participant information. Some information is actual while some is estimated.

Any actual/real information should be entered into DB Precision and saved. Common examples of actual information provided include the following:

• Actual Termination Date: if the date is after the date that the calculation request was received, it should be considered to by estimated
• Beneficiary Information: this includes beneficiary type, date of birth, Social Security Number, and name.
• Address Information
• Updated Salary/Hours Information: if the stop date of any of these amounts is after the current date, it should be considered to be estimated.

When information received is either marked as being estimated or is for a period that is after the date of the calculation request, it should be treated differently from actual data.

There are two ways to handle estimated data received and each has its advantages and disadvantages:

• Store the Estimated Data: with this option, you input the information into DB Precision and for Reported Amounts and Historical Dates, you check the Estimated box.
• Don't Store the Data: input the information into DB Precision, run the calculation, but then close the Person without saving.

In general, it is better to not save estimated data unless you believe there is a good chance that there will be another request using the same estimated data.

By having estimated data in the database, it becomes a part of a Person's permanent record, and even though the Reported Amount or Historical Date has been indicated as estimated, this might be missed in the future, so storing it could create additional problems (using the estimated data in the final calculation for example).

However, if there is a good chance you will be doing another estimate in the future, then for any of these future calculations, you would be required to reenter the same information leading to the risk of future input error. If this is a possibility, then you should store the estimated data. It's worth noting that most estimated data gets replaced with valuation data submission.