See fixed code below
>I am trying to make the following code work. I keep getting an error on last line (select usertable) stating "Alias Usertable' not found". Has anyone run ito this problem?

cTable = 'sometable'
select fname, totpay, fica, retire_amt, health_ins, retiree_med, ;
         unempins, wrkcompins, total_salary  ;
  from payroll_tbl ;
   into cursor <b>(cTable)</b> ;
   where payroll_tbl.bdate = ldBDate

*usertable = select(cTable)
*select usertable
<b>SELECT (cTable)</b>

You have to use Name Expression in order to create cursor with a name stored in the variable. Take a look at Name Expression topic in the help.