1-RFI for PASR Readiness Assessment.docx

10 Corporate Woods Drive Albany, New York 12211 800-348-7298 nystrs.org

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Pension Administration System Replacement

(PASR)

Readiness Assessment Industry Standards

New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. IMPORTANT NOTICE

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for the purpose of market research and industry engagement.

· This is not a solicitation.

· No contract will be awarded because of this RFI.

· NYSTRS is under no obligation to proceed with any procurement.

· Respondents will not be reimbursed for any costs incurred in responding.

· AI Usage Disclosure: If any artificial intelligence (AI) tools were used in preparing this RFI response, please disclose the extent of their use. Specifically, indicate whether AI was used solely for editing, formatting, or restructuring existing content, or whether it was used to generate or substantially develop the content. The vendor remains fully responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and originality of all information submitted.

NYSTRS intends to use the information gathered to inform the development of a future Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Pension Administration System Replacement (PASR) Readiness Assessment.

Please note:

NYSTRS has partnered with Bonfire Interactive to create a procurement portal (“Bonfire Portal”) that will allow bidders to receive notifications of formal competitive procurement and, requests for information, and then electronically submit bids and proposals to NYSTRS.

NYSTRS officially distributes bidding documents through the Bonfire Portal. Copies of bidding documents obtained from any other source are not considered official copies. Only those vendors who obtain bidding documents from the Bonfire Portal are guaranteed to receive all attachments, drawings or addendum information, if such information is issued.

Registration on Bonfire is mandatory to participate in NYSTRS’ formal competitive procurements and to download procurement documents and submit a proposal/bid. Registration is easy and free. Go to nystrs.bonfirehub.com and select “New Vendor Registration” under the login tab. After you have registered, navigate to the Open Public Opportunities tab to view this Request for Information.

Vendors are solely responsible for the electronic submittal of their response and NYSTRS is not responsible for any transmission errors or delays.

Hard copy, fax and email responses will not be accepted.

Contact Bonfire for support at support.bonfire@eunasolutions.com with any questions regarding the Bonfire website.

2. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES OF THIS RFI

NYSTRS is assessing the potential replacement of its legacy Pension Administration System (PAS), a twenty-year-old platform carrying significant technical debt. The system currently has more than 200+ initiatives open in ServiceNow regarding new features, enhancements and defects related to this system, highlighting the need for modernization.

The anticipated sunsetting of PeopleSoft in 2037, along with peers’ lengthy modernization timelines, has prompted NYSTRS to begin this effort. Before replacing PAS, NYSTRS will conduct a Readiness Assessment to prepare for a new system. This RFI is issued solely for market research and will inform the structure and scope of a future Readiness Assessment RFP.

We are seeking guidance on the following:

· Definition of ready, based on prior vendor experience and the info shared by us in this document.

· Inform the future Readiness Assessment RFP by gathering high‑level industry insights relevant to pension modernization initiatives.

· Define the recommended scope, high‑value deliverables.

· Provide perspective on typical engagement expectations, including duration, effort, NYSTRS team size, structure and skill set, and required client participation.

· Share commonly observed risks and lessons learned from similar modernization efforts to help NYSTRS anticipate and mitigate challenges.

· Advice if the readiness assessor should be independent of the future implementation vendor? Advantages? Risks? Recommendation.

· What information should NYSTRS provide in its future RFP to enable accurate pricing? What quantitative measures are required to be included in the RFP?

· Based on similar engagements, what are the primary drivers of effort and cost?

· What does a low/med/high maturity organization look like to undertake something like this?

3. NYSTRS CONTEXT (HIGH‑LEVEL)

The New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS) is one of the largest and best funded public defined benefit pension systems in the United States. Established in 1921, NYSTRS provides retirement, disability, and death benefits to eligible New York State public school teachers and administrators (excluding NYC). It is recognized nationally for its financial stability, long-term sustainability, and commitment to serving educators.

NYSTRS supports a broad membership base including*:

Active Members: 275,053 Retired Members: 177,262 Beneficiaries: 7,659 Total Membership: 459,974 Participating Employers: 828

*Numbers as of June 2025 (NYSTRS membership is mandatory for public school districts, Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), institutions of higher education, and optional for any of the charter schools that elect to participate) As one of the top 10 public pension funds in the nation, NYSTRS manages substantial assets and administers significant annual benefit payments to members. Its role spans member education, retirement processing, employer reporting, compliance functions, and ongoing support through channels such as MyNYSTRS, employer services, and retirement planning tools. NYSTRS is known for exceptional fiscal discipline, strong audits, and a customer service focused operating model.

NYSTRS operates within a complex environment that includes a mature defined‑benefit (DB) plan, significant regulatory and compliance obligations, and numerous integrations with HR, Payroll, Finance, and Reporting systems and leverages modern digital tools and portals to support members and employers and streamline operational processes.

More information can be found on NYSTRS’ website, www.nystrs.org Sample Transaction Volumes:

With large data volumes, high service expectations, and a focus on long‑term sustainability, the organization continues to explore modernization efforts for its technology and processes to improve efficiency, accuracy, and member experience.

The current environment consists of the following:

· More than twenty-year-old legacy pension administration system: PeopleSoft HCM

· System modules that rely on custom code, historical design decisions, and dated technical frameworks, making standard upgrades increasingly complex.

· Multiple (35-40) integrations with internal and external systems including but not limited to Employer Secure Area (external employer portal), MyNYSTRS (member self-service portal), Workday (enterprise HCM/Finance), Service Now (ITSM processes), General Correspondence Application (Member Communications), Document Management and Reporting & Identity Management Systems.

· High reliance on overnight batch processing to process payroll, service credit, contributions, retirements and actuarial updates.

· Numerous business processes require manual interventions, especially where data corrections, retroactive updates, or cross-system synchronization are needed.

· Decades of historical member and employer data, with varying levels of structure and quality.

· Data fragmentation across legacy tables and interfaces presents barriers to analytics, forecasting, and real-time insight.

· Core architecture does not natively support modern Application Programming Interface (API) frameworks, mobile experiences, real-time event processing, or cloud elasticity.

· Significant regulatory and reporting obligations.

· Actuarial data collection requires extensive data collection, cleansing, reconciliation, and transformation.

4. INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDENTS

4.1. Response Approach

Respondents are requested to:

· Base responses on industry experience and comparable engagements

· Avoid requesting NYSTRS-specific clarifications

· Clearly state any assumptions made

4.2. Vendor Questions

A questions and answers (Q & A) session will be held after the close of the RFI. Please check the schedule below:

· Posting period: 08/03/26 – 08/21/26.

· Questions and RFI submissions due: 08/21/26 by 5:00 pm (ET).

· Virtual Q & A session date: 09/15/26. (Meeting information will be shared with the vendors by 08/30/26)

· Final submission of additional information: 09/25/26 (Vendors will be able to submit additional/updated information based on the clarification received during the Q & A session) All questions should be submitted ahead of time along with the RFI submission and will be addressed during a single Q & A session after the RFI closes. Administrative questions will be handled by our procurement contact to ensure smooth communication and organization.

NYSTRS reserves the right to ask for additional information after the Q & A session.

Respondents should primarily rely on:

· Information provided in this RFI and

· Their professional experience with similar pension modernization initiatives.

4.3. RFI Response Format

Responses should:

· Follow RFI sections

· Be Excel, Word, or PDF (JPEG, PNG or other picture formats will not be accepted)

5. INFORMATION REQUESTED

For each section (A to L) under this heading, please provide your response in a structured format as outlined in RFI Response Template attached to this RFI. This is a mandatory requirement.

When addressing the requested information, consider relevant domains such as technology, operational processes, regulatory compliance, staff training, and stakeholder communication. Identify and prioritize the key components and offer any additional recommendations not previously covered.

To maintain clarity and avoid duplication, use the following for your responses across all sections:

· Key Components of Assessment

· Prioritization of Components

· Provide additional recommendations that are not captured in RFI Response Template

SECTION A – READINESS ASSESSMENT SCOPE

· What should a comprehensive Pension Administration System Readiness Assessment include? Please identify and prioritize.

· Provide any additional recommendations that are not captured in RFI Response Template

SECTION B – RECOMMENDED ACTIVITIES

· What activities should be included in a readiness assessment?

· Is it standard for any/all the items in this section to require an internal key person?

· Provide any additional recommendations that are not captured in RFI Response Template

SECTION C – DELIVERABLES

· What deliverables should NYSTRS prepare for the future RFP and to what depth level?

· Provide any additional recommendations not captured in RFI Response Template

SECTION D – ORGANIZATIONAL READINESS

· What should be assessed to determine organizational readiness?

· Provide any additional recommendations not captured in RFI Response Template

SECTION E – TECHNOLOGY & DATA READINESS

· What technology aspects should be evaluated?

· What should be included in a data readiness assessment?

· Provide any additional recommendations not captured in RFI Response Template

SECTION F – RISKS & LESSONS LEARNED

· Based on your experience, provide the list of risks and lessons learned for the readiness assessment initiative.

· Provide any additional recommendations not captured in RFI Response Template

SECTION G – FUTURE RFP RECOMMENDATIONS

· What topics should NYSTRS include in the future Readiness Assessment RFP?

· Provide any additional recommendations not captured in RFI Response Template

SECTION H – ESTIMATED EFFORT AND PRICING

· Provide the estimated efforts, pricing and team structure for a typical readiness assessment for a pension replacement project.

· Provide any additional recommendations not captured in RFI Response Template

SECTION I – TEAM STRUCTURE

· What roles are typically required from the client side during the readiness assessment project?

· Provide any additional recommendations not captured in RFI Response Template

SECTION J – QUESTIONS TAB

· If you have any questions, enter them on the Questions tab of the RFI Response Template.

If there are no questions, enter ‘None’ in cell A3.

SECTION K– FOIL TAB

· On the FOIL tab, respondents shall indicate if there is specific information in its proposal, which the respondent claims to be proprietary and/or trade secret information, that meets the definition set forth in FOIL §87.2 (see Section 7 below).

If not claiming any exemptions, please enter “None” in cell A3.

Please note: To facilitate requests for information under the Freedom of Information Law, submission file(s) security settings must allow for redaction of trade secret/proprietary information.

6. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW

NYSTRS abides by the requirements set forth in the Freedom of Information Law (Article 6 of the New York State Public Officers Law, “FOIL”) governing the disclosure of public records. The proposal of the successful bidder and the proposals of unsuccessful bidders may be subject to disclosure under FOIL.

However, pursuant to §87.2 of FOIL, NYSTRS may deny access to those portions of proposals or portions of a successful bidder’s contract which meet the criteria for exemption. Please note that all information that a bidder may claim as proprietary, copyrighted, or rights-reserved is not necessarily protected from disclosure under FOIL.

Confidential, trade secret or proprietary materials as defined by the laws of the State of New York must be clearly marked and identified as such upon submission by the Bidder/Contractor. Marking the Bid as “confidential” or “proprietary” on its face or in the document header or footer shall not be considered by NYSTRS to be sufficient without specific justification as to why disclosure of particular information in the bid would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of the bidder. Bidders intending to seek exemption from disclosure of these materials under the Freedom of Information Law must request the exemption in writing, setting forth the reasons for the claimed exemption. NYSTRS’ receipt or acceptance of the claimed materials does not constitute a determination on the exemption request, which determination will be made in accordance with statutory procedures. Properly identified information that has been designated confidential, trade secret, or proprietary by the Bidder will not be disclosed except as may be required by the Freedom of Information Law or other applicable State and federal laws.

NYSTRS will not honor any attempt by a bidder either to designate its entire bid proposal as proprietary and/or to claim copyright protection for its entire proposal.

7. CONFIDENTIALITY

All submissions will be treated as confidential and used solely for internal planning and procurement development purposes.

8. SUBMISSION DETAILS

Submissions must be submitted via Bonfire.

Deadline: 08/21/26 by 5 pm (ET)

9. CLOSING STATEMENT

NYSTRS appreciates industry participation; insights will inform the future RFP.

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