FAQ 635: Portable copy--copy is masking the SSNs

Problem:

We are trying to make a portable copy of a full case (including plan specs, all employees, etc.) and the system is masking the social security numbers so we cannot import new data. Can you please advise as to how we can get around this feature?


Solution:

If you are creating portable copies of plans, and then restoring them on another system or machine, the SSNs could end up masked, as by default the SSNs are masked when creating a portable copy to hide the majority of the SSN for privacy purposes. Since normally portable copies are used to send plans to support for assistance, this usually does not create any problems as we don't usually need the full SSN for any reason, and that gives our clients assurance that the SSNs cannot be read while the plan is in transit. If that is what is happening in your office, you will need to change the Social Security Number option to "Yes" when creating the portable copy so that the full SSN will be contained in the files. This is the only way to be sure that the full SSN is contained in those files.