Ascensus Format Export

Ascensus is a retirement plan administrator that manages state-facilitated retirement programs in several states. ProPay can export employee census data and payroll deduction contributions in the Ascensus fixed-width file format. This export is used by clients in California, Illinois, and Oregon whose state retirement programs are administered by Ascensus.

When to Use This Export

Use the Ascensus format export when your client's state retirement program is administered by Ascensus. Currently supported states:

State	Program Name
California	CalSavers (Ascensus format)
Illinois	Illinois Secure Choice
Oregon	OregonSaves

> Note: California clients may use either the standard CalSavers CSV format or the Ascensus fixed-width format, depending on their plan administrator's requirements. Check with the administrator to confirm which format to use.

Setting Up the Deduction

The deduction setup follows the same pattern as CalSavers. See CalSavers Retirement Program for detailed setup instructions.

Key settings:

Description: Use the program name (e.g., "CalSavers", "ILSecure", "OregonSaves")
Taxability: Leave all boxes unchecked (after-tax Roth IRA)
W-2 Column: Enter I
Type: P (percentage) at the employee level

> Important: ProPay matches deduction contributions to the export by searching deduction descriptions. Use a consistent description across all enrolled employees.

Exporting Employee Census Data

From the Payroll Main Menu, click the Employer toolbar button.
From the Exports popup menu, select CalSavers (Ascensus).
Select Export Employees.
ProPay generates the census file in Ascensus fixed-width format and displays it.

Census record format (DTL records):

Field	Position	Length	Content
Record type	1-5	5	"DTL"
SSN	6-17	12	9 digits, no dashes
Last name	18-37	20	Text
Middle initial	38	1	Text
First name	39-53	15	Text
Payroll number	54-63	10	Employee ID
Address	74-103	30	Text
City	134-156	23	Text
State	157-158	2	State code
ZIP	159-168	10	Text
Date of birth	170-177	8	MMDDYYYY

Exporting Contribution Data

From the Payroll Main Menu, click the Employer toolbar button.
From the Exports popup menu, select CalSavers (Ascensus).
Select Export Contributions.
ProPay generates the contribution file with HDR (header), DTL (detail), and TOT (total) records.

Contribution file structure:

Record Type	Content
HDR	Employer Federal ID, payroll number, pay period start and end dates
DTL	Employee SSN, deduction amount per pay period
TOT	Total contribution amount, record count

After export, ProPay offers options to view, email, or upload the file.

Tips and Warnings

> Tip: The Ascensus format uses fixed-width fields. If employee names or addresses are truncated in the export file, verify that the data in ProPay does not exceed the field lengths shown in the census record format table above.