RFP No. DMS 14/ Attachment 5 - Client Specific Questions

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1 # Question Vendor Response Category Points Non-scoring (informational) questions: 1 Provide instructions for accessing the demos of your participant and plan sponsor websites (web address, User ID, password, etc.). Questions to be scored: 2 The plans have approximately 18,000 active members combined with over $4 billion in assets. Describe your firm's depth of experience with similar university/higher education clients with non-erisa, governmental 403(b) and 401(a) defined contribution plans. For how many 403(b) plans with 10,000 or more participants has your firm served as a provider of defined contribution bundled retirement services, and for how long did your firm provide services for each plan? For these plans, please identify the number of participants for whom your firm is providing (or has provided) recordkeeping services, and the number of representatives providing services for each plan listed. Please include these plans (other than the Department) in the references requested by Response Tab 3 of the RFP. 3 Will someone from the client servicing team be available to meet in person with the Department and each employer to discuss such topics as plan statistical information and trends, communication planning and results, fees, etc.? How frequently (e.g., annually, quarterly, as needed) will someone from the client servicing team be available to meet in person with the Department and each employer? Please provide a listing of the representatives (by qualifications) for a plan of a similar size. Education 0 Organization / Market Focus 10 Organization / Market Focus 10 Page 1 of 10

2 4 Is your firm planning any major changes to the recordkeeping system or platform during the next 3 years? If yes, explain the reason for the change(s) and the potential impact to plan sponsors and members. Would the change(s) cause any disruption to the ongoing processing of member transactions? 5 Can location codes by employer or other member identifiers be loaded and maintained in your firm's recordkeeping system? Can you report data to the Department and each employer based on these location codes or other criteria? Describe how your firm can segment data and provide meaningful information based on location (trends, results of key initiatives, etc.). 6 How does your firm handle corrections to member accounts? For example, if the Department mistakenly sends a $250 contribution on the payroll file in June, and then sends a negative ($250) contribution in July, how is the member's account corrected on your recordkeeping system? Note that the Department would require that the transaction from June be reversed so that the member is made whole, as if the error never happened. Will your firm establish a separate account (similar to a forfeiture account) to hold any gains associated with member corrections, and to be used to fund any losses? If there are no funds available in the account and a loss adjustment needs to be made, describe your process for working with the Department to request additional funding. Recordkeeping / Administration 10 Recordkeeping / Administration 10 Recordkeeping / Administration 10 Page 2 of 10

3 7 Is your firm able to separately track member contributions to the plans by account source (employer contributions, compulsory member contributions, voluntary member contributions and rollover funds)? Please explain. 8 The provisions of the plans require that retired members suspend benefits if they are re-employed within 12 calendar months after beginning to receive benefits. Is your firm able to suspend benefit payments to members once they have begun receiving those benefits? Please explain. 9 If your firm is selected as a vendor, will your firm monitor member 402(g) deferral limits on a per-payperiod basis? Indicate how your firm will monitor Age 50 and special 15-year catch-up contributions. If the Department provides access to year-to-date information from other vendors and/or plans (e.g., voluntary contribution plans) can your firm consolidate the information to monitor these and other plan/regulatory limits? Explain. 10 Will your firm identify members who are required to take a required minimum distribution (RMD), calculate the amount, notify the member, and process the RMD? Describe in detail the level of support your firm will provide. Note that the Department must first verify the member s termination and approve all distributions. Recordkeeping / Administration 10 Recordkeeping / Administration 10 Page 3 of 10

4 11 QUESTION 11: As noted in the RFP, the Department can have no more than six vendors. The majority of existing plan assets can only be transferred to the selected vendor(s) at the discretion of the member and the Department does not currently intend to direct the transfer of any assets not subject to participant control. Therefore, the selected vendors must share information and coordinate with other vendors. Your firm will be required to abide by the Information Sharing provisions of the Contract, Attachment 4 (in section 5.28) and agree to share data with the Department and other approved vendors for compliance purposes related to hardship withdrawals, loans and other purposes. Does your firm currently have a process in place to exchange information with the current plan providers (ING, Jefferson National, MetLife, TIAA- CREF and VALIC for the SUSORP; ING and Great West for the SMSOAP)? If so, please describe. If not, describe your ability to establish these relationships. What file format (e.g., SPARK) does your firm use and is it widely accepted by other vendors? How frequently do you provide data feeds to the various vendors? Is your firm willing to share data beyond the minimum typically required for compliance purposes related to loans and hardship withdrawals (for example, for consolidated reporting purposes)? Page 4 of 10

5 Does your firm have the ability to accept and aggregate information from all other vendors, and provide consolidated reports to the Department and employers? If so, is the information available online through a plan sponsor website? How frequently will you accept data feeds from other vendors and how frequently is the reporting data updated? Does your firm have the ability to pull detailed information from the other vendors via a "screen scraping" process (if the member provides you with the necessary account log-in information)? If there are any additional fees for these services, be sure they are clearly documented in the Per- Participant Fee Quotes (Attachment 3) in your response to this RFP. 12 Describe your online ad-hoc reporting capabilities. Can location codes by University and state employer or other member identifiers be used as criteria when generating reports? Please provide examples of the types and variety of ad-hoc reports which would be available through this tool. 13 Will your firm review and approve Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDRO), communicate directly with participants and alternate payees during the qualification process, and split the account as directed by the QDRO? Will your firm provide written QDRO procedures? If so, describe your QDRO procedures. If there are fees for these services, please include them in the Per-Participant Fee Quotes (Attachment 3) (all fees are payable by the member). Page 5 of 10

6 14 Does your firm's plan sponsor website provide for multiple levels of access for various Department and employer staff, as determined by the Department and each employer? Describe the different levels of access available. 15 Describe the level of customization available for member communications, and advise what level of customization (if any) is available at no additional charge to the Department. 16 Will the on-site representatives working with SUSORP and SMSOAP members be employees of your firm (or a subsidiary company)? Please provide specific details. Regardless of whether the representatives are employed by your firm or not, describe their licensing requirements, certifications/designations, professional experience requirements and training. 17 Describe the compensation structure of the on-site representatives. Is their pay tied to the sale of other products, or the investment of plan assets in a particular fund or contract? Are you willing to restrict the solicitation of products and services by on-site representatives solely to the products offered under the SUSORP and SMSOAP if directed by the employers? Page 6 of 10

7 18 How does your firm propose communicating to eligible employees and current SUSORP and/or SMSOAP members in order to generate participation with your firm? In particular, describe the use of on-site resources. Provide examples of your firm's experience with similar entities. Detail your firm's experience in facilitating transfers from other vendors/contracts where member direction is required. How will you monitor the progress of these initiatives and report results back to the Department and each employer? If you are an existing provider, how will you communicate to members, including current clients, regarding migrating existing balances to the new platform, if appropriate for the member to do so? 19 Is your website and toll-free telephone number compliant with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? 20a Does your firm provide members with on-line investment advice / guidance? Describe the services available and ensure the specific fees associated with the service are included in the Per-Participant Fee Quotes (Attachment 3). 20b Does your firm provide members with managed accounts? Describe the services available and ensure the specific fees associated with the service are included in the Per-Participant Fee Quotes (Attachment 3). 10 Education Page 7 of 10

8 21 Is your firm able to assist the state in developing and implementing a communications brand for the plans? If so, please describe your capabilities and provide examples of branded materials (both webbased and printed materials). Provide details regarding any additional fees associated with this service and ensure the fees are included in Per- Participant Fee Quotes (Attachment 3). 22 Respondent is required to provide a proportional share of a minimum of 1,164 visits per year (inclusive of all campuses) when Respondent s representatives will be available on one or more of the twelve state university campuses (see Attachment 9 for locations) for face-to-face meetings with faculty and staff eligible to participate in the SUSORP. Will your firm be able to accommodate this schedule using existing resources, or will additional employees need to be hired? Please specifically describe the level of expertise and experience that your proposed on-site representatives have with universities. Attachment 9 shows the number of SUSORP eligible faculty and staff at each campus location. Please describe how your firm will provide this level of oncampus representation, at no cost to the department or the employers, and how you would accommodate the need to increase the level of oncampus presence if growth in membership or the desire of the SUSORP membership for additional service were to develop. Page 8 of 10

9 23 The Department's contract start date is July 1, (A detailed timeline of the selection process and implementation is included in the RFP.) Can your firm accommodate that start date to begin receiving contributions? What is the minimum lead-time your firm needs to implement the new arrangement and what steps are involved? Provide a proposed implementation timeline and details on how your firm would address the conversion process. Please note any concerns along with other questions related to this RFP by the Q&A deadline in the Timeline of Events, section 2.2 of the RFP. 24 Disclose all charges, penalties and liquidity restrictions that would apply to your proposed product(s), both at a plan sponsor level and at a participant level for the following: Conversion / Implementation 10 a) Plan sponsor initiated contract termination/discontinuance/transfers/ mapping and other events. Fees 10 b) Participant directed transfers/exchanges/withdrawals and other events. Fees As noted in the Pass/Fail Certification, any revenue sharing or other funds received from the Program s investments to cover recordkeeping, trust/custodial, and administrative expenses must be rebated to participants. Please describe your firm s process for rebating these funds, including all alternative methodologies. For example, are rebates done at the plan level or the fund level, how frequently will rebates be processed, etc. Fees 10 Page 9 of 10

10 26 The contract, Attachment 4, requires a Service Level Agreement (SLA). Are you willing to provide a SLA with fees placed at risk covering the areas of availability (e.g. contact center, web, online statements, days on campus), responsiveness (e.g. speed to answer calls, case management resolution, timely distribution of statements), quality/accuracy (e.g. transaction processing), satisfaction (e.g. participants, plan sponsor)? Provide a copy of your proposed SLA to include the proposed fees placed at risk in Response Tab 5 of any response to the RFP. If your firm does not meet a specific standard and an adjustment to fees is required, how does that process work (particularly if ongoing fees are paid from member accounts)? Fees If your firm is one of the awarded vendors, upon contract execution, is your firm willing to create and fund a Plan Expense Reimbursement account for actual expenses incurred by the Department in an amount not to exceed $25,000, to be shared on a pro-rata basis between winning vendors? This would include providing initial educational information for the members. Fees 10 Page 10 of 10