TOWN OF MANCHESTER, CONNECTICUT PENSION BOARD REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL #15/16-73 PENSION AND OPEB PLAN CONSULTING ACTUARIAL SERVICES For the period July 1, 2016 June 30, 2019 with possible renewals for an additional three (3) years. The Town of Manchester invites proposals for consulting actuarial services. Five (5) copies of each proposal shall be placed in a sealed envelope and identified as Proposal for Consulting Actuarial Services : Proposals hand delivered by FedEx, UPS or other shall be addressed to: Town of Manchester, Connecticut Mr. Gerald R. Dupont Director of General Services 494 Main Street Manchester, CT 06040 Proposals delivered by the U.S. Postal Service shall be addressed to: Town of Manchester, Connecticut Mr. Gerald R. Dupont Director of General Services 494 Main Street P.O. Box 191 Manchester, CT 06045-0191 The deadline for submission of proposals is March 29, at 4:00 p.m. Proposals received after the specified time and date shall not be considered. Questions about this RFP may be directed to Gregory Simmons, Finance Director, by email gsimmons@manchesterct.gov or fax (860) 647-5206 or no later than 7 days prior to the date proposals are due. All information given by the Town except by written addenda shall be informal and shall not be binding upon the Town nor shall it furnish a basis for legal action by any Proposer or prospective Proposer against the Town. Answers to these questions will be addressed in an addendum which will be issued on the Town of Manchester Web site at http://generalservices1.townofmanchester.org/index.cfm/bids/. It shall be the responsibility of the bidder to download this information. THE TOWN OF MANCHESTER WILL NOT MAIL A SEPARATE HARD COPY OF ADDENDUM TO BIDDERS. No addendum will be issued less than 2 (two) calendar days before the scheduled bid opening unless it is to postpone the bid. 1
TOWN OF MANCHESTER, CONNECTICUT PENSION BOARD I. PURPOSE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL CONSULTING ACTUARIAL SERVICES The purpose of this request is to solicit proposals from firms interested in serving as Consulting Actuary to the Town of Manchester Pension Board. The Pension Board of the Town of Manchester is seeking professional actuary services to perform the annual pension plan valuation and semi-annual OPEB valuation and other related services as required by current or future GASB pronouncements. A complete description of required services is included in Section VI, Scope of Services. II. GENERAL INFORMATION The Town of Manchester is a town of 58,000 located in central Connecticut. It has a Council/Manager form of government. The Pension Board was created by local Ordinance to manage and administer the defined benefit and defined contribution plans for General and Police employees. The Pension Board consists of seven members appointed by the Board of Directors. The Pension Board has full responsibility and authority for Plan investments, valuation and administration. III. OVERVIEW OF EXISTING PLANS In addition to participation in the social security retirement system authorized by the Federal Social Security Act, The Town sponsors the following retirement plans: A. The Town of Manchester Pension Plan (employees pension plan) is a defined benefit, contributory pension plan covering permanent employees of the Town except for firefighters covered under the state Municipal Employees Retirement Fund and certified education staff. There are seventeen (17) investment managers for the Retirement Plan, of which three (3) are domestic equity managers, four (4) are fixed income managers, and four (4) International Equity, two (2) are Asset Allocation, two (2) are Alternatives and two (2) are Private Equity. The market value of the Retirement Plan was $152,291,485 as of December 31, 2015 with 1,455 participants as of June 30, 2015. The current equity and fixed income investment guidelines adopted by the Pension Board are attached. 2
B. The Defined Contribution Plan has 21 million in assets to provide benefits at retirement to certain unaffiliated employees of the Town and Board of Education and members of various bargaining groups depending on date of hire. Additional information about the Pension Plans and the OPEB Trust can be found in the Comprehensive Annual General Report available on the Town s website. IV. LENGTH OF CONTRACT The contract for consulting actuarial services will cover a period of three (3) years. The Pension Board will have the option to extend the contract for an additional three-year period under the same terms and conditions. The contract will provide for early termination by either party upon sixty (60) days written notification of the intention to do so. V. SELECTION OF CONSULTING ACTUARY A. Timetable The following is a timetable for selection of the Consulting Actuary. 1. March 1, 2016 Request for proposals available. 2. March 29, 2016 4:00 p.m. submission deadline. 3. Award anticipated no later than May 2, 2016. 4. Initial contractual award period begins July 1, 2016. B. General Selection Criteria The following criteria will be used to evaluate proposal responses and select a short list of proposers that may be requested to make oral presentations: 1. Quality of written proposal and completeness of response to all questionnaire items. 2. Ability to meet service requirements. 3. Experience in providing similar services to other public funds. 4. Commitment by the firm and individual consultants to be assigned to this account. 5. Qualifications and experience of individuals assigned to this account. 6. Aggregate service cost. 3
C. Terms and Conditions 1. The Town reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and has the right to waive any irregularities and informalities in a proposal at anytime during the proposal process until a contract has been executed. 2. The award of the contract will be to the firm whose proposal in the opinion of the Pension Board, is the best proposal, taking into consideration all aspects of the proposer s response, as well as the total net cost to the Retirement Fund. 3. The Town will not be responsible for any expenses incurred in the preparation of proposals or presentation or costs incurred during contract negotiations. 4. The Town will consider proposals from parties who are able to provide full consulting services on a timely basis, and are free from any obligation and interests which might conflict with the interests of the Town of Manchester and/or Pension Board. 5. All proposers, in order for their proposal to be considered, must not be delinquent on any property tax issued by the Town. Proposers shall certify that neither they nor any business or corporation fully or partially owned by the proposer is not delinquent on Town property taxes. VI. SCOPE OF SERVICES REQUESTED A. Basic Requested Services 1. As of June 30 of each year, an annual formal valuation of the assets and liabilities of the Pension Plan with valuation report to the Pension Board which includes recommended employer contribution for the first and subsequent year. 2. Review of actuarial assumptions used in the valuation for appropriateness. 3. Assist in the analysis of financial input of proposed Plan changes. 4. Assist, upon request, the Pension Board in the preparation of documents required. 5. Assist in the implementation of recommendations made by the independent auditors concerning the Pension Plan. 6. Assist, upon request, the Town in the determination of benefits for individual employees. 7. Submit annually, in accordance with a schedule established by the Town, information regarding Plan assets and liabilities required for annual financial statements preparation. 8. Analysis of the impact of proposed and enacted federal and state laws and other regulatory pronouncements. 4
9. Provide factors, formulas, and other information required by the town for effective administration of the Plan. 10. Prepare annually a report to the Pension Board which identifies issues which could impact the Pension Plan in the upcoming calendar year. 11. Coordination of upcoming liability estimates with investment consultant and Pension Board in order to assure availability of assets to match liabilities. 12. If requested, preparation and production of annual employee benefit statements which include: a. Narrative introduction b. Employee census data c. Normal retirement date and entitlement d. Employee contributions with interest 13. Counsel the Town, upon request, on issues other than items 1-12 above which many impact the Pension Plan. It is suggested that the following process be used for issues outside of items 1-12 above: VII. FORMAT OF PROPOSAL a. The Pension Board defines the issues and requested service. b. The Consulting Actuary provides a cost estimate. c. The Consulting Actuary provides a report on the issue and presents to the Pension Board. In order to facilitate the review process, it is required that proposals be organized in the following manner: A. Table of Contents B. Letter of Transmittal indicating interest and providing other information which would assist the Town in the selection process. This letter must be signed by a person legally authorized to bind the firm to a contract. C. A statement demonstrating understanding and capability of providing the services described in the Scope of Services. D. Responses to Questionnaire (Exhibit A) in same order as listed in Exhibit A. E. A statement of those items either in the Questionnaire or in the Scope of Services the proposer is unable or unwilling to provide. 5
F. Manchester Living Wage Ordinance This RFP is subject to the provisions of the Town of Manchester Living Wage Ordinance. A summary description of the ordinance and the certification form is attached (Exhibit B). Contractors are asked to indicate on the attached Certification Form if your firm would be considered a covered employer. The Certification Form shall be returned to the Town with the proposal. VIII. CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS A. Any prospective firm must make an affirmative statement to the effect that its retention, if selected, shall not result in a conflict of interests or create an appearance of impropriety with any person or organization which may be affected under this program. Should any potential or existing conflict be known by a prospective firm, said prospective firm must specify the person or organization with which the conflict exists or might arise, the nature of the conflict and whether the prospective firm would or would not step aside or resign from tat conflicting engagement or representation if selected by the town of Manchester. B. The firm selected shall provide a certificate of insurance indicating the following minimum coverage: Workers Compensation As required by law (if participants are employees) Professional Liability Minimum limits of $2,000,000 per occurrence. If the policy is on a claims made basis, the policy shall be continually renewed for two years beyond the termination date of this contract and its renewals. All insurance coverage shall be primary. C. No assignment of the final contract can be made without the written consent of the Town of Manchester. IX. NUMBER OF COPIES REQUIRED It is requested that five (5) copies of the proposal be submitted in one package. 6
X. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS Proposals will be evaluated by the Pension Board or subcommittee to ascertain which proposal best meets the needs of the Town. Evaluation consideration will include, but not be limited to, the following: A. Responsiveness of the proposal in clearly stating an understanding of the work to be performed. B. Experience and technical ability of the firm and project staff to perform consulting, planning and advisory services. C. Reputation and experience of the firm. D. The fees and expenses, although a significant factor, may not be the dominant factor. Fees and expenses will be a particularly important factor when all their evaluation criteria are relatively equal. XI. ORAL PRESENTATION Formal oral presentation by each firm submitting a proposal is not expected to be necessary. However, if there is an indicated need to seek clarification of any information contained in a proposal, or the Pension Board wishes additional information on any matter, one or more firms may be requested to submit clarifying information in writing. An oral presentation may be required of the top finalists. XII. SELECTION OF PROPOSALS The Pension Board reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, waive any informalities and to award the contract in the best interest of the Town of Manchester. 7
EXHIBIT A QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ACTUARIAL CONSULTING SERVICES FOR TOWN OF MANCHESTER PENSION BOARD I. IDENTIFYING INFORMATION A. Name of Firm B. Address of firm s office which will service this account C. Professionals who will service this account (may be attached on separate pages) 1. Name 2. Title 3. Actuarial Credentials 4. Telephone Number 5. Address (if different from IB) 6. Brief summary of experience D. For the Project Manager/Leader who will service this account: 1. Years of employment with the firm 2. Brief description of education and professional experience, particularly as it relates to public pension plans 3. Professional designations II. FIRM DESCRIPTION A. Describe the resources the firm currently has for effective delivery of these actuarial services. B. What quality control and scheduling procedures does the firm employ to assure that the services provided clients are of acceptable quality and timely? III. FEES The Town will pay for services rendered after itemized invoices are reviewed and approved by the Pension Board. A. How does the firm determine the fees to be charged for services rendered? B. Are sufficiently itemized invoices provided so the Town can determine that services and costs are being billed? Are travel, lodging and other direct expenses by task or activity identified? Is the billing rate for various levels of staff providing services indicated on invoices? 8
C. What will be the Fee for preparation of the July 1, 2004 Annual valuation of Plan assets and liabilities? D. Provide a five-year history of billing rates for representative personnel for an engagement similar to that request by the Pension Board. IV. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Please provide the following information: A. Number of retirement plans for which actuarial consulting services are provided: 1. By the firm over-all? 2. By the office of the firm that will service this account? 3. By the Project Manager/Leader who will service this account? B. Number of qualified (able) municipal retirement plans for which actuarial consulting services are provided: 1. By the firm over-all? 2. By the office of the firm that will service this account? 3. By the Project Manager/Leader who will service this account? C. List five (5) clients with plans similar to ours that we may contact for references. Please provide information in a table as follows: Plan #employees # retirees # Vested Members Value of Assets Client Since Please provide length of client relationship, and contact person s name and phone number. D. Number of municipal programs for which actuarial consulting services are provided for Post-Retirement Medical Programs: 1. By the firm over-all? 2. By the office of the firm that will service this account? 3. By the Project Manager/Leader who will service this account? E. Describe the research capacity of your firm and explain how it may benefit the Pension Board. 9
V. OTHER OPTIONAL INFORMATION Please feel free to include any other information in your proposal which will help the Town develop an under- standing of the capabilities of your firm. All proposals submitted and information included herein or attached hereto shall become public records upon their delivery to the Director of General Services. 10
EXHIBIT B LIVING WAGE SUMMARY DESCRIPTION AND CERTIFICATION FORM Summary Description for Vendors Regarding Manchester s Living Wage Ordinance Effective February 1, 2010, the Town of Manchester adopted a living wage ordinance. This Summary Description is designed to provide any vendor bidding on a Town of Manchester contract with the key provisions of that ordinance. It does not contain the full ordinance. LIVING WAGE REQUIREMENT: The ordinance requires that companies awarded service contracts by the Town of Manchester exceeding $25,000 in any one fiscal year pay their Eligible Employees a living wage. Companies considered Covered Employers subject to this requirement are defined below. The Town of Manchester has determined that the contract resulting from this bid or Request for Proposals will be subject to the ordinance if the total contract value is $25,000 or more in any one fiscal year. The living wage is currently calculated to be $13.41/hour for employees that are provided comprehensive health care benefits, or $17.13/hour for employees that are not provided comprehensive health care benefits. The living wage and health benefit requirements are adjusted annually each July, effective July 1, 2010. Companies will be required to pay the applicable living wage rate in effect during the term of their contracts. COVERED EMPLOYERS AND EXEMPTIONS: The ordinance requires that Covered Employers pay the living wage rate. Certain employers are excluded from paying the living wage rate. They are as follows: - Non-profit organizations as defined by the ordinance, and - Entities that employ less than 25 eligible employees. ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES: Eligible employees are all permanent, full time employees of the company (defined as a normal work week of at least 30 hours), working in the State of Connecticut, not just those working on the Town contract. The following are not considered eligible employees for the purposes of the living wage requirement: - Employees with a normal work week of less than 30 hours. 11
- Seasonal or temporary employees. - Employees under the age of 18. - Employees hired as part of a school-to-work program. - Students who serves in a work-study program or as an intern. - Trainees participating for not more than six months in a training program. - Employees enrolled in a governmentally funded vocational rehabilitation program. - Volunteers working without pay. - Employees exempted under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act due to disabilities. - Any person whose wage rate is subject to a federal or State of Connecticut statute or regulation mandating a prevailing wage rate. EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS: Covered Employers are required to do the following pursuant to the ordinance. - Certify with the submission of their bid or proposal a) that they will pay the required living wage to eligible employees if awarded a contract, or b) that they are exempt from requirements of the ordinance, - Upon award, covered employers shall provide the Town a sworn affidavit affirming that all eligible employees of the covered employer working in the State of Connecticut are receiving the living wage and health benefits required by this ordinance. - This sworn affidavit shall be provided thereafter on an annual basis within 30 days of a request being made by the Town if the duration of the contract exceeds one (1) year. - Notify their employees of their rights under the Living Wage Ordinance by posting a copy of the ordinance and other materials prepared by the Town of Manchester in locations where employees will see them. - Make best efforts to attempt to hire residents of the Town of Manchester for all new positions which result from a service contract subject to the ordinance. 12
PROHIBITED PRACTICES: - Covered Employers cannot decrease non-wage benefits (such as insurance, vacation, or pension) as a means of complying with the living wage requirements. - Covered Employers cannot retaliate or discriminate against any employee for making a complaint against the covered employer regarding compliance with living wage requirements. ENFORCEMENT: The Town may enforce the provisions of this ordinance by the imposition of fines, suspension of contract or declaring the Covered Employer ineligible for future contracts. WAIVERS: The ordinance provides for the waiver of certain requirements in the ordinance. However, no waivers will be considered until the bidding process has been completed and a contract has been awarded. Requests for waivers must be made by the Covered Employer, in writing, to the General Manager. The General Manager shall submit the waiver request to the Board of Directors, which shall have the sole discretion as to whether it is granted. The above is intended to be a summary of the requirements of the living wage ordinance as they affect covered employers and is provided for informational purposes only. Employers should read the entire Living Wage Ordinance. It can be found online at www.townofmanchester.org on the left side of the page. Click on Document Center, scroll to General Services and click on Living Wage Ordinance. 13
TOWN OF MANCHESTER LIVING WAGE CERTIFICATION FORM The Town of Manchester has determined that this contract may be subject to the provisions of the Manchester Living Wage Ordinance, Chapter 212 of the Manchester Code of Ordinances, Sections 212-1 through 212-11. Bidders are required to indicate whether they are a Covered Employer as defined by the Manchester Living Wage Ordinance or are exempt from the requirements by marking the appropriate section below. FAILURE TO INDICATE MAY RESULT IN THE REJECTION OF YOUR BID. I/We are a covered employer and shall pay the required living wage to eligible employees and comply with the requirements of the ordinance during the term of the contract. Or that: I/We are not a Covered Employer and therefore not subject to Manchester s Living Wage Ordinance for the reason indicated below: Charitable foundations, charitable trusts or nonprofit agencies or nonprofit corporations, provided that the foundation, trust or nonprofit agency or corporation is exempt from federal income taxation and may accept charitable contributions under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended. Bidder employs less than twenty five (25) eligible employees. Annual contract value is less than $25,000. I, of do hereby certify Officer, Owner, Authorized Rep. Company Name that the representations made above are accurate for : Bid Name or RFP Name Signed by: Dated: TO BE RETURNED WITH BID OR RFP SUBMISSION. 14