One of the first steps in learning how to use DB Precision is to understand the different classes of items/objects in the system and the relationship between these objects. The following topic gives a basic description of the 3 basic objects in DB Precision and describes the relationships between each.

A Plan Sponsor is a company or government entity that provides a pension to some or all of its employees and their spouses. The pension can be provided in the form of one or more Plan Documents. The Plan Sponsor is commonly referred to as your client (pays you to assist in pension administration). A Plan Sponsor has one or more Plan Documents and one or more people that are participants in its plan(s).

A Plan Document is where all of the rules for plan administration and benefit determination are found. In addition, this is where the layout of any benefit output is defined. While most Plan Sponsors only have one Plan Document, some sponsors may provide multiple pension plans to their employees (hourly plan and salaried plan for example).

A Person is defined as somebody who is either a current or former participant or employee of a Plan Sponsor. It includes active participants, ineligibles, beneficiaries, and even deceased former participants. All of the pension-related data exists within each Person. It is important to note that some people stored within DB Precision work or previously worked for more than one Plan Sponsor. In these situations (commonly referred to as Crossover), some basic information (name, date of birth, gender, address information) is shared between these sponsors and making a change to that Person's data could impact the other sponsor's data.