NIGP 91840: Employee Benefits Consulting

NIGP 91840 Employee Benefits Consulting, an Item code, encompasses the broad range of advisory, brokerage, and administrative services that state and local governments procure to manage employee health, welfare, and retirement benefit programs—including plan design, vendor negotiation, compliance support, and operational administration across medical, dental, vision, life insurance, flexible spending accounts, and ancillary coverages. Recent state and local solicitations show sustained demand across counties, municipalities, school districts, and special-purpose authorities, with activity concentrated in Georgia, Florida, and Texas, driven by ongoing self-funded plan management, regulatory complexity, and workforce cost containment objectives.

Issuing bodies range from large county systems (Chatham County, Pinellas County, and Monroe County in Florida and Georgia) and mid-to-large municipal governments (City of Tampa, City of Phoenix, City of San Antonio, City of Round Rock) to independent school districts (Austin ISD, Hillsborough County Public Schools, Fort Bend ISD, Klein ISD) and regional authorities (Atlanta Regional Commission, Inland Empire Health Plan). Representative recent opportunities include Austin Independent School District's RFP 27RFP016 for pharmacy benefit management services, due August 4, 2026; Henry County, Georgia's RFP 27-01 for comprehensive employee benefit broker services, due August 11, 2026; the City of Tampa's RFP 26-P-00112 for benefits consulting covering approximately 2,900 employees and 600 retirees with an incumbent expiration of January 31, 2027, due August 6, 2026; and Chatham County, Georgia's RFP 26-0029-5 for annual benefits consulting and actuarial services supporting 1,700 employees and 1,036 retirees, due March 31, 2026. Work scopes commonly include strategic plan design and analysis, carrier relationship management and RFP coordination, actuarial and claims analysis, compliance and regulatory support, wellness program evaluation, open enrollment administration, Section 125 cafeteria plan management, COBRA and retiree billing administration, and employee communication and education. Evaluation criteria across jurisdictions emphasize firm qualifications and relevant experience (often 20–35 points), technical approach and service delivery capability (20–35 points), cost and value (5–40 points), and references and past performance (5–15 points), with pricing models ranging from fixed annual or per-employee-per-month fees to commission-based or hybrid arrangements. Contract terms typically run one to five years with optional renewals, and several jurisdictions explicitly encourage or require minority business enterprise, women business enterprise, or small local business enterprise participation.