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Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2025-02-07
Concept: Retro Limits and Balances with Suspended Retro Results

Concept: Retro Limits and Balances with Suspended Retro Results

When you suspend retro results for workers, Workday:
  • Excludes the results from on-cycle and off-cycle pay calculations.
  • Moves the workers' No Retro Processing Prior To (NRPPT) date to the first day of the next completed period.
When workers have supported retro events in periods before their new NRPPT date, you can move that date to an earlier date to process those events. Workday still applies the suspended results in balances and limits you recalculate for prior periods in retro pay calculations, including results for FLSA calculations for Payroll for the U.S. Running retro again after moving the NRPPT date can generate discrepancies.
You can create memo pay components to offset results you want to suspend to resolve the discrepancies between retro and pay results. When you rerun retro and pay calculations, Workday:
  • Applies the memo pay component in retro and excludes the amount from balances, limits, and pay balances, as configured.
  • Excludes the suspended retro result from the pay result in the target period.
To avoid pay calculations processing retro differences in workers' next on-cycle payroll, make sure those memo pay components:
  • Only update pay balances and limits.
  • Don't impact workers' gross pay.
Example: To offset a 100 suspended retro result, create a memo deduction of 100 for the source period.
Example: Limits Without Suspended Retro Results
Mary has a monthly commuting allowance of 100 with a quarterly limit of 1,300. In February, your company updates this allowance to 500 effective January 1. You run retro to process a payment for this change in the on-cycle results:
Retro Pay Calculation
Pay Calculation
January
500 (new allowance) - 100 (previous paid allowance) = 400
QTD allowance balance: 500
Remaining balance: 800
Forwarded retro difference: 400
QTD allowance balance paid: 500
Remaining balance: 800
February
Allowance for the month: 500
QTD allowance balance paid: 1,000
Remaining balance: 300
In March, your company updates the allowance to 700 effective January 1, but the quarterly limit remains 1,300. You run retro again to process a payment for this change:
Retro Pay Calculation
Pay Calculation
January
700 (new allowance) - 500 (previous paid allowance) = 200
QTD allowance balance: 700
Remaining balance: 600
Forwarded retro difference: 200
QTD allowance balance paid: 700
Remaining balance: 600
February
600 (remaining balance) - 500 (previous paid allowance) = 100
QTD allowance balance: 1300
Remaining balance: Zero
Forwarded retro difference: 100
QTD allowance balance paid: 1300
Remaining balance: Zero
March
Allowance for the month: Zero
Mary reaches the quarterly limit in February both using the retro pay calculation and the regular pay calculation.
Example: Limit in Retro with Suspended Results
Mary has a monthly commuting allowance of 100 with a quarterly limit of 1,300. In February, your company updates this allowance to 500 effective January 1. She changes pay groups in February, so the January increase is from a different pay group. You don't want to process the January increase in her current pay group, so you:
  1. Run retro and suspend her retro result for January. Workday moves her NRPPT date to February 1.
  2. Run the pay calculation for February.
Workday applies the suspended result to limits in retro and excludes it from pay results in the target period. The retro results are identical to the previous example, but pay results differ:
Retro Pay Calculation
Pay Calculation
January
500 (new allowance) - 100 (previous paid allowance) = 400
QTD allowance balance: 500 (400 suspended retro result included)
Remaining balance: 800
Forwarded retro difference: Zero
QTD allowance balance paid: 100 (400 suspended retro result excluded)
Remaining balance: 1200
February
Allowance for the month: 500
QTD allowance balance paid: 600
Remaining balance: 700
In March, to process the allowance increase to 700, you:
  1. Move the worker's NRPPT date to January 1.
  2. Run retro.
  3. Run the pay calculation for March.
The retro results are identical to the example without suspended results but the pay results differ:
Retro Pay Calculation
Pay Calculation
January
700 (new allowance) - 100 (previous paid allowance) - 400 (suspended result) = 200
QTD allowance balance: 700 (400 suspended retro result included)
Remaining balance: 600
Forwarded retro difference: 200
QTD allowance balance paid: 300 (400 suspended retro result excluded)
Remaining balance: 1000
February
600 (remaining balance) - 500 (previous paid allowance) = 100
QTD allowance balance: 1300
Remaining balance: Zero
Forwarded retro difference: 100
QTD allowance balance paid:
300 (QTD allowance balance paid in January)
+ 500 (previous paid allowance in February)
+ 100 (forwarded retro difference in February)
= 900
Remaining balance: 400
March
Allowance for the month: 400
QTD allowance balance paid: 1300
Remaining balance: Zero
Mary reaches her quarterly limit:
  • In February for the retro pay calculation.
  • In March for the regular pay calculation.
When you have a supported event in March and run retro, Workday reverses the 400 paid for that month. You can create a memo deduction of 400 for January that offsets the suspended result without impacting the worker's net pay. The limits are then consistent between the retro and regular pay calculations.