Create new payroll status for benefits administration

Hi - Has anyone created a new payroll status. We are redesigning our retiree benefit programs. We maintain surviving spouses in a separate benefit program using the deceased retiree's record and eligibility config fieilds. If a retiree is deceased and a specific value is entered in ELIG CONFIG1, the deceased employee is  placed in survivor benefit program. The deceased retiree and survivor are elected into the survivor benefit programs. I would like to merge the survivor's benefit program into the retiree benefit program without adding all deceased retirees into the consolidated benefit program. So I was thinking I could maybe