To prepare for AUREUS, you will need to

• Add an AUREUS pay code to active employees who do not have a retirement pay code. (Step 1)

• Add a Pick up pay code to active employees who receive the Pick up amount. (Step 2)

• Add an additional contributions pay code to active employees who do not have a retirement code. (Step 3)

 

AUREUS (An Innovative Solution for All of Us) is an upgrade to Utah Retirement System (URS) for retirement plans. It represents a large-scale transformation project aimed at modernizing how URS and its stakeholders (employers, payroll processors, and others) interact with retirement data systems. 

Why it's important

• Employer Reporting Integration: AUREUS includes an Employer Portal where employers can submit Employment Files and Payroll Files, either manually or by file upload/SFTP to streamline how data is transmitted to URS. 

• User Acceptance Testing: Since mid-2024, URS has been conducting User Acceptance Testing including end-to-end testing and "parallel testing" alongside the legacy system, to ensure a smooth transition. 

• Employer Resources: URS provides file format documents, webinars, FAQs, and other supporting materials to help employers adapt to the new system. 

• Go-Live Timeline: AUREUS is scheduled to go live in late summer to early fall 2025. 

 

 

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Step 1. AUREUS pay code 

Add a new AUREUS pay code to the Pay Codes table, and then add the AUREUS pay code to active employees who do not have a retirement pay code. The AUREUS pay code will map your organization's pay codes to the URS's retirement reporting categories. 

What is an AUREUS pay code? In your payroll system, each type of employee pay (regular salary, overtime, special pay, leave payouts, and so on), has a pay code. URS requires you to map each of those payroll codes to the correct AURUES retirement classification so that AUREUS knows: 

• Whether that pay is retirement-eligible or not.

• Which Benefit Program, Tier, Sub-Tier it belongs to.

• Whether it should be treated as regular retirement salary, other pay, or excluded pay. 

 

1A. Add the AUREUS pay code

1. Open Connect Payroll > Organization > Pay Codes.

2. Click New  (CTRL+N).  

3. Set up the Pay Code tab. 

 

• Pay code, Sub code: Enter an unused pay code, sub code combination. Recommendation: Use a pay code in the 90s so the pay code is filed in the pay codes with the other retirement pay codes. 

• Title: Enter a title for the new AUREUS pay code. 

• Abbreviated title: Enter an abbreviated title for the new AUREUS pay code. 

• Type: Select Informational. 

 

4. Set up the Employer tab. 

 

• Amount/Rate/Percent type: Select Amount. 

• Amount: Enter 0 (zero). 

 

5. Set up the Used In Calculation and Used For Calculation tabs. 

For the AUREUS pay code: No pay codes should be set up on the Used In Calculation tab or Used For Calcuations tab. 

 

6. Click Save  (CTRL+S). 

 

1B. Add AUREUS pay code to active employees without a retirement code

 

You can 

• Add the AUREUS pay code one-by-one to active employees. Use Modify Existing Employees to look up an employee. Navigate to the Pay Codes tab, and then click Select Pay Codes  to add the AUREUS pay code to the employee. (Employees)  

• Add the AUREUS pay code all active employees. Use Add Pay Codes to Employees to add the AUREUS pay code to a batch of employee records. (Employees)

 

 

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Step 2. Pick up pay code

You'll need to add a new pay code for pick up to the Pay Codes table. And then, you will need to add the Pick up pay code to active employees who do not have a retirement pay code. 

Pick up (picking up the employee's required retirement contribution) is reported separately. It needs to be calculated as its own pay code. Pick up is a payroll classification indicating that the employer is picking up (paying) the employee's required retirement contribution. This shifts the tax treatment so the contribution is considered an employer contribution, not taxable income to the employee at the time of payment. 

When employers typically use pick-ups: 

• As of July 1, 2020, contributions are split between employer and employee (for example, employer pays 14%, employee 2.27%).

• Employers have the option to pick up the employee's portion, making compliance and administration easier and aiding employees by deferring taxes. 

• If used, the amount the employer picks up is treated as a salary supplement, not deducted from employee pay, and it's excludable from gross income until distribution. 

 

How it appears in reporting (or doesn't): 

• URS does not use a formal pick up pay code in payroll reporting files. Instead, the payroll records still use the standard structure for Benefit Program, Tier, and Sub-Tier—just that the contribution is paid by the employer, not with withheld from the employee. 

• The pick-up affects the funding and withholding side, but it isn't represented as a special code in the data file. Rather, it's an agency-level election affecting how contributions flow. 

 

2A. Add a Pick-up pay code 

You can copy an existing pay code for a Tier 2 amount or you can set up a new pay code. The Pick-up pay code setup is similar to the Tier 2 pay code. A Tier 2 employee is defined as an employee hired on or after July 1, 2011. A Tier 2 pay code is used to identify earnings that are pension-eligible for Tier 2 members. 

Copying an existing Tier 2 pay code (Recommended)

1. Open Connect Payroll > Organization > Pay Codes. 

2. Look up a Tier 2 pay code. 

3. Click Copy  (SHFT+F7). 

4. Enter a pay code and sub code for the Pick-up pay code, and then click OK. 

Recommendation: Use a pay code in the 50s so the pay code is filed in the pay codes with the other Tier 2 retirement pay codes. 

 

5. Click Save  (CTRL+S).

 

Adding a new Pick-up pay code

1. Open Connect Payroll > Organization > Pay Codes.

2. Click New  (CTRL+N).  

3. Set up the Pay Code tab. 

• Pay code, Sub code: Enter an unused pay code, sub code combination. Recommendation: Use a pay code in the 50s so the pay code is filed in the pay codes with the other Tier 2 retirement pay codes. 

• Title: Enter a title for the new Pick up pay code. 

• Abbreviated title: Enter an abbreviated title for the new Pick-up pay code. 

 

4. Set up the remaining fields on the pay code. 

See the help topic titled How do I set up Tier 2 Fund DB Hybrid EE Contribution? (Utah) for specific instructions. [More]

 

5. Click Save  (CTRL+S).

 

2B. Add Pick-up pay code to active employees without a retirement code

 

You can 

• Add the Pick-up pay code one-by-one to active employees. Use Modify Existing Employees to look up an employee. Navigate to the Pay Codes tab, and then click Select Pay Codes  to add the Pick-up pay code to the employee. (Employees)  

• Add the Pick-up pay code all active employees. Use Add Pay Codes to Employees to add the Pick-up pay code to a batch of employee records. (Employees)

 

 

 

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Step 3. Additional Contributions pay code

Add a new pay code for additional contributions to the Pay Codes table, and then add the additional contributions pay code to active employees who do not have a retirement pay code. 

What employers should know

1. No dedicated "Additional Contributions" pay code. AUREUS payroll reporting doesn't require or include a specific pay code labeled "additional contributions." Each payroll line includes standardized fields like Benefit Program, Tier, Sub-Tier, and so on, but not an explicitly "additional contributions pay code."

2. Additional Contributions refers to recently enacted legislation (SB 140 in 2024 and SB 20 in 2025) addresses how Tier 2 employee contributions are handled when employers choose to pick up (in other words, pay) the employee's required portion:

   1. An employer can elect to pay the member's contribution for Tier 2 Hybrid Plan members. 

   2. If this election is made, the law requires the employer to make an additional non-elective contribution—equal to that picked-up amount—for employees under the Tier 2 Defined Contribution (401k-only) plan. 

3. This legislation change ensures fairness across different Tier 2 plan options and clarifies funding responsibilities. 

 

How this impacts reporting and payroll practice

1. Employers must implement the pick-up election in payroll systems, ensuring the correct portion is employer-paid rather than payroll-deducted from the employee. 

2. In turn, for Tier 2 DC-only employees, the employer must add an equivalent contribution to their retirement savings plan as a non-elective employer contribution. 

3. These contributions—whether picked-up or additional—are processed through payroll setup, but still reported using the standard AUREUS pay codes and mapped retirement classifications. 

 

3A. Add Additional Contributions pay code

1. Open Connect Payroll > Organization > Pay Codes.

2. Click New  (CTRL+N).  

3. Set up the Pay Code tab. 

 

• Pay code, Sub code: Enter an unused pay code, sub code combination. Recommendation: Use a pay code in the 90s so the pay code is filed in the pay codes with the other retirement pay codes. 

• Title: Enter a title for the new Additional Contributions pay code. 

• Abbreviated title: Enter an abbreviated title for the new Additional Contributions pay code. 

• Type: Select Informational. 

 

4. Set up the Employer tab. 

 

• Amount/Rate/Percent type: Select Amount. 

• Amount: Enter 0 (zero). 

 

5. Set up the Used In Calculation and Used For Calculation tabs. 

For the Additional Contributions pay code: No pay codes should be set up on the Used In Calculation tab or Used For Calcuations tab. 

 

6. Click Save  (CTRL+S). 

 

3B. Add Additional Contributions pay code to active employees without a retirement code

 

You can 

• Add the Pick-up pay code one-by-one to active employees. Use Modify Existing Employees to look up an employee. Navigate to the Pay Codes tab, and then click Select Pay Codes  to add the Pick-up pay code to the employee. (Employees)  

• Add the Pick-up pay code all active employees. Use Add Pay Codes to Employees to add the Pick-up pay code to a batch of employee records. (Employees)

 

 

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