Why did an employee's Smart Rates allowance change, or look wrong?

If your company uses Smart Rates, each employee's allowance is calculated for them, so two employees in the same class can get different amounts. Here's how it works, what makes an amount change, and what to check if one looks wrong.

How Smart Rates works

Your company chose a percentage of a benchmark plan tier, for example 75% of a Gold plan.
For each employee, we price that benchmark plan for their age and the ZIP code of their home address, the same way individual health plans are priced. Their allowance is your percentage of that price.
If your plan includes a dependent allowance (family scaling), that amount is added for each dependent, up to your limit.
Smart Rates applies to Full-Time and Salary employees. Part-Time and Hourly employees get a flat amount.
Age is counted as of the start of the plan year. An employee's allowance doesn't change on their birthday during the year. It's updated for the new plan year at renewal.

Learn more: Why your ICHRA policy can't change during the plan year

Why an employee's amount can change

The amount doesn't change on its own from month to month. It's recalculated when something it depends on changes:

The employee updates their date of birth in their Benefits Portal.
The employee enters or confirms their home address, during setup or in the renewal "confirm your information" step. Moving to a different area changes the price of the benchmark plan.
You change the employee's employment status (class) or number of dependents in Edit employee.
A new plan year starts, with new ages and new plan prices.
Your company's contribution was changed at renewal.

A change applies to reimbursements going forward. Reimbursements that were already paid don't change.

If an amount looks wrong, check the date of birth and ZIP code

These two details drive the price, so they're the most common cause of an unexpected amount:

Date of birth. A typo can make an employee years older or younger, which changes the price of their benchmark plan.
ZIP code. An old address, a mailing address or a ZIP code in a different county prices the plan for the wrong area.

How to fix it

Admins can't edit an employee's date of birth or address in the Employer Portal, and the allowance field in Edit employee can't be changed directly.

Wrong date of birth: ask the employee to sign in to their Benefits Portal, open Profile, and update Date of Birth. Their allowance is recalculated right away.
Wrong ZIP code or address: employees can confirm their address in the renewal "confirm your information" step. At any other time, email support@stretchdollar.com with the employee's name and correct home address.
Wrong class or number of dependents: update it yourself. Go to Employees, click the menu next to the employee, and choose Edit employee. See How do I edit an employee's details?

Checked both and it still looks wrong? Email support@stretchdollar.com with the employee's name, their date of birth and ZIP code, and the amount you expected. We'll look into it.