Section_C_-_IDIQ_PWS_Tracked_Changes.pdf

FIELD OFFICE SUPPORT SERVICES

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

SECTION C

SECTION 1 PROJECT TITLE

Field Office Support Services

1.2 INTRODUCTION

The contractor shall provide all personnel, supervision, and non-personal services, necessary to perform benefit administration, document management and contact center support services for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s (PBGC) Office of Benefits Administration (OBA), Participant Services Department (PSD) as defined in this Performance Work Statement (PWS). PBGC is seeking qualified contractors to provide a broad spectrum of benefit administration services and operate PBGC’s Customer Contact Center (CCC). The contractor, either on its own or with the use of subcontractors or teaming partners, must have the capabilities to provide all the services contained in this PWS. PBGC intends to make a single award indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with Firm Fixed Price, Time-and-Materials, or Labor Hour task orders. Individual orders will be issued for performance of the task area services described in Section 5 of this PWS. PBGC intends to issue Task Order 1 at the time of the IDIQ award.

SECTION 2 BACKGROUND

The PBGC is a Government-owned corporation established under Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974. Background and mission information is available at http://www.pbgc.gov/about/about.hml.

PSD has a responsibility over the day-to-day benefits administration and supporting activities for PBGC’s customers. PSD is seeking to achieve greater flexibility in managing resources to handle the variability in its workload in a more efficient and cost-effective manner while maintaining strict adherence to federal privacy law and regulation and PBGC policies for handling sensitive information, including personally identifiable information (PII)

Historically the work sought under this PWS has been performed by multiple contractors at multiple locations in the United States. Operations included in this PWS are currently being performed in seven government-leased facilities located in Sarasota, FL, Miami (Doral), FL, Wilmington, DE, Coraopolis, PA, Euclid, OH (formerly Richmond Heights, OH), and Alexandria, VA, as well as a small piece which is operated out of PBGC’s headquarters in Washington, DC. PBGC closed its Sarasota, FL office in September 2018 and in November 2018, relocated the Richmond Heights, OH office to Euclid, OH. A listing of the incumbent contract information can be found in Attachment A, Table 1.

PBGC leases the facilities supporting PSD’s operations under this PWS. Over the term of this 5-year requirement, PBGC will continue to provide the facilities, equipment, and software to support the work under this PWS. Over the term of this 5-year requirement, PSD plans to close the Wilmington, DE, Coraopolis, PA, and Alexandria, VA facilities and consolidate the work sought under this solicitation into two (2) primary locations in or around the existing PBGC facilities in Euclid, OH and Miami (Doral), FL.

A limited portion of the work will be performed out of the PBGC’s headquarters in Washington, DC.

http://www.pbgc.gov/about/about.hml

We intend to relocate our Customer Contact Center from Alexandria, VA to the Euclid, OH facility sometime during either Option Year 2 or Option Year 3 of this contract as provided in Schedule B for the applicable option year. The exact date of the transition has not yet been determined. The contractor will be notified up to 6 months prior to the anticipated transition date. Services related to the Customer Contact Center as described in Section 5.5 will be awarded as a separate task order.

The benefits administration operations, document management and CCC serve a vital role in supporting PBGC in meeting its customer service goals and objectives. This solicitation supports PBGC’s Strategic Goal #2: Pay Pension Benefits on Time and Accurately and Goal # 3: Maintain High Standards of Stewardship and Accountability. This solicitation seeks to consolidate our benefits administration and document management operations as well as the CCC into a single award during the period of performance of this requirement. To achieve Goal # 3, we have streamlined the number of labor categories across the various contracts to provide more flexibility to the vendor to fill needed positions and to promote more effective contract management by the government. We believe this consolidation will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of PBGC’s service delivery to its customers, reduce processing times, and improve customer satisfaction.

SECTION 3 SCOPE

All work performed under this PWS shall be done using PBGC provided systems, equipment, and facilities, unless otherwise stated. Prior to their use under this PWS, all systems, equipment and facilities not provided by PBGC must be fully vetted and approved for use by PBGC in accordance with applicable directives and policies and shall be subject to periodic review and re-authorization. The contractor shall provide all full and part-time personnel, supervision, and quality assurance to perform the services listed below. The primary objectives of this requirement are to provide customer-focused benefit administration services to PBGC customers, efficiently, effectively, and in compliance with established PBGC procedures. The contractor shall have the flexibility to utilize staff across all the locations to accomplish the work according to specific timeframes to meet applicable quality and information standards.

The contractor shall provide the following services:

• Benefits Administration (5.1)

• Administrative Support and Document Intake (5.2)

• Participant Database Building Support (5.3)

• Reserved/Intentionally Left Blank (5.4)

• Customer Contact Center (5.5)

• Enhanced Participant Locator (5.6)

3.1 Communications with Third Parties (Excluding PBGC customers)

The contractor may be required to communicate directly with the third parties such as plan sponsors, third party administrators, and or paying agents about the work required under this PWS. In such circumstances, the contractor shall clearly communicate with third parties that they are contractors working on behalf of PBGC. This authority extends only to the scope of the tasks outlined in this solicitation. The contractor shall document all conversations to include (1) who they spoke to (name and title), (2) date and time of the conversation, and (3) the nature of discussion. In situations where documents cannot be obtained after all reasonable attempts have been made, the contractor shall notify the COR or designated government representative for guidance. In all instances, contractors communicating with third parties under this PWS shall convey only specific PII necessary to complete the tasks prompting such communication.

3.2 Collaboration

The contractor shall be required to work collaboratively with a wide variety of PBGC employees, including other contractors. The contractor shall be responsible for establishing a structure which promotes collaboration across multiple locations while maintaining strict adherence to the proper handling of sensitive PBGC data.. It is important for the contractor to have consistency and standardization to ensure the work performed meets all the quality standards outlined in the PWS and that a high degree of service is being delivered to customers.

SECTION 4 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

The contractor shall conduct the work specified in this PWS in accordance with the following referenced documents. Deviations from the procedures shall be documented in writing and approved in advance by the COR, designee, or appropriate PSD management official.

Document Identifier Document Title OBA Operations Manual OBA Operations Manual (Attachment B) Document Management Center Standard Operating Procedures

Document Management Center SOP (Attachment C )

Benefit Payment Recovery – Standard Operating Procedures

Benefit Payment Recovery Standard Operating Procedures (Attachment D )

Customer Contact Center- Standard Operating Procedures

Customer Contact Center – SOP Attachment I

OBA Policy Manual OBA Policy Manual – Applicable Chapters Attachment J

PBGC Applicable Documents and systems as identified Section 8.3 are subject to change. The contractor will be notified of any content updates. The contractor shall obtain approval of the designated government representative for any deviations from the contracted procedures prior to implementing such deviations.

The OBA Operations Manual has deliverable items enumerated in various processes. The individual process deliverables are not included in the Deliverables Chart in Section 7 but shall be submitted to the appropriate government representative to indicate the task has been completed.

SECTION 5 TASK AREAS

PBGC participants and beneficiaries entrust PBGC with their personally identifiable information (PII) to pay their benefits timely and accurately. PBGC takes its responsibility to protect this PII seriously and, under the Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, the contractor will have the same responsibility as PBGC employees to protect PBGC data. The contractor will protect PBGC data while performing the following tasks.

5.1. BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION

The contractor shall provide qualified staff to perform the following tasks across multiple locations daily. The contractor shall effectively transition and perform the workload from the existing contracts and locations into this requirement while maintaining customer service levels. The workloads identified in Attachment A (Tables 2-5) are indicative of what the contractor can expect during the base year of the contract. The contractor shall assume work in the long-term locations of Euclid, OH and Miami, FL as well as relocate work currently performed in Coraopolis, PA, Wilmington, DE and

Alexandria, VA over a timeframe described in Task Order 1. The scope of work includes but is not limited to the following items.

5.1.1. Benefits Administration

5.1.1.1. Respond to Customer Inquiries. The contractor shall establish one or more designated call team(s) to handle telephone calls transferred from the Tier 1 Customer Contact Center (CCC) in Kingstowne, VA. Tier 1 calls are listed in Section 5.5. Tier 2 calls generally transferred from the CCC to the field office locations include, but are not limited to, retirement eligibility and entitlement questions, requests for retirement calculations, requests for retirement applications and retirement application status, death notifications, and missed payment inquiries. PBGC receives approximately 460,000 calls per year at the Tier 1 CCC (see Section 5.5.) Sixty-five percent (65%) are resolved by the CCC (300,000 calls) and 35% are forwarded to the Tier 2 call teams for handling (160,000). The scope of this section is the Tier 2 calls only.

5.1.1.2. Document Customer Interactions. The contractor shall use PBGC’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to appropriately record, track and resolve customer interactions that come in via phone, fax, email, mail, or are assigned to them in CRM by PBGC staff. The contractor shall actively monitor and resolve CRM interactions and escalate issues before problems arise, through the appropriate channels.

5.1.1.3. Bilingual Customer Service Representative (Spanish). The contractor shall provide some staff proficient in speaking both English and Spanish. The bilingual staff shall answer calls in Spanish and translate incoming and outgoing documents into Spanish or English if necessary (e.g., correspondence, templates, marriage certificates, birth certificates, death certificates, website pages and SharePoint libraries.) Translation needs in languages other than Spanish will be transferred to federal staff for handling.

5.1.1.4. Quality Monitoring, Calibration & Training. The contractor shall perform call monitoring to ensure quality performance objectives are met for “soft skills” (i.e.

Greeting, Service Orientation, Issue Identification, Issue Resolution, Communication, Call Management, and Technical Proficiency). The contractor shall be required to participate with PBGC’s independent vendor for joint calibration sessions. PBGC will provide the contractor with quarterly feedback on the results of independent call monitoring of the “soft skills” and the independent call monitoring of the technical proficiency.

5.1.1.5. Process Retirement (Benefit) Applications and Payments. The contractor shall process requests for retirement calculations/estimates and send PBGC customers retirement application packages. The contractor shall review all received applications for completeness and provide timely support to customers having difficulty completing their application within the 180-day timeframe. Once applications are completed, the contractor shall establish corresponding payments for the customers in PBGC’s payment system (Spectrum) within the established timeframes, quality levels, and in accordance with the established PBGC policies and procedures. The contractor shall research missing benefit payments and assist customers with getting replacement payments or changing their payment destination information.

5.1.1.6. Process Customer Deaths. PBGC learns of customer (payee and non-payee) deaths both by next of kin reporting and through a data file transmitted by the Social Security Administration, which is uploaded monthly to PBGC’s database.. When it is determined that a payee has died, the contractor shall check to see if there is a beneficiary owed benefits, contact beneficiaries and transfer payments to them. Frequently, overpayments also result from customer deaths and the contractor shall quantify the amount of the overpayments and process requests through PBGC’s paying agent portal (eCARF) to reclaim overpayments if possible. The contractor shall be responsible for keeping track of overpayment reclamation activities and provide regular status reports to PBGC.

5.1.1.7. Process Domestic Relations Orders (DROs), Powers of Attorney (POAs) and Guardianships. The contractor shall designate individuals, who can be trained by PBGC to be responsible for making routine determinations and qualifications for Domestic Relation Orders (DRO), Powers of Attorney (POAs) and Guardianships. The contractor shall submit non-routine determinations to the appropriate federal staff.

5.1.1.8. Conduct research and create documentation. The contractor shall research in PBGC systems and provide proposed responses for participant matters as requested by PBGC.

Examples of inquiries that require research and documented responses include congressional inquiries, appeals board referrals, working retirement assessments, referrals from internal/external auditors, etc.

5.1.1.9. Update Addresses. The contractor shall research and update customer addresses associated with returned mail and those provided through the National Change of Address (NCOA) service on a quarterly basis. The contractor shall process returned mail using PBGC’s commercially available locator service to verify and update customer addresses. As requested, the contractor shall coordinate with designated government representatives to update participant addresses provided by the Post Office.

5.1.1.10. Pension Search Program. The contractor shall assist in the intake of new missing participants. The contractor shall assist in maintaining an accurate inventory of missing participants using PBGC’s customer database, performing routine searches for missing or unlocatable participants and sending correspondence to newly located participants.

5.1.2. Plan Intake. The contractor shall assist PBGC in transitioning plans from the prior plan administrator and/or paying agent to PBGC after trusteeship. Timeframes for completing these activities are enumerated in the OBA Operations Manual. These activities are tracked and monitored through OBA’s project scheduler. The contractor shall participate in monthly status meetings to ensure plan intake activities are on schedule.

5.1.2.1. Data Collection Field Trips. The contractor may be requested to support PBGC federal staff and or other PBGC contracted staff with data collection and scanning of plan and participant documents at remote locations (e.g., prior plan administrator location.) To the extent possible, data collection/scanning trips will be scheduled two weeks in advance

5.1.2.2. Plan Assumption: The contractor shall reconcile and load payee and non-payee customer data into PBGC’s payment system and issue trusteeship notifications to customers. The contractor shall review payee data for accuracy and completeness and track the completion of payee information updates.

5.1.2.3. Participant Reconciliation/Updates (payees and non-payees). The contractor shall update participant records in PBGC’s payment system in support of the post Plan Assumption reconciliation, participant data reviews, financial statement audit and actuarial processes. Due dates will be determined at the time of assignment. The contractor shall adjust retiree payments as required by the OBA Operations Manual to comply with PBGC benefit limitations.

5.1.2.4. Benefit Determination. The contractor shall issue letters to customers after all evaluations of insured benefits have been completed and quantified to let customers know if their benefit will stay the same or be reduced due to PBGC’s insurance limitations.

The contractor shall adjust benefits in PBGC’s payment system for both payees and non-payees, according to the final benefit determination. The contractor shall communicate any back payments/recoupments necessary (using PBGC systems and tools) to support the final benefit payment amount.

5.1.3. Document Management. The contractor shall maintain and update participant files in accordance with the OBA Operations Manual (Attachment B) and Document Management Center Standard Operating Procedures (Attachment C). The contractor shall index, re-index, classify and quality control check scanned and uploaded documents to ensure that participant and plan records in PBGC’s electronic file repository (Image Viewer) is current, complete, and accurate. The contractor shall adhere to the proper handling of electronic and physical records, including securely maintaining and destroying physical copies as appropriate.

5.1.4. Benefit Payment Support

5.1.4.1. Recovery of Overpayments. The contractor shall support recovery activities in cases where PBGC makes an incorrect payment to an individual (most often after that participant is deceased) and that payment needs to be recovered. Activities include but are not limited to processing payment reclamation transactions, tracking the results of those reclamation activities, drafting and sending letters to estates requesting repayment, researching the status and joint account holders of relevant bank accounts, drafting, sending and following up on subpoenas.

5.1.4.2. Pay Cycle Support. The contractor shall assist with the monthly payment process reconciliation, specifically identifying payment issues, researching payment issues, and following up on and documenting the correction of payment issues. Activities include but are not limited to: resolving variances between projected and actual payments;

identifying and correcting incorrect payments prior to the monthly check run; reconciling payments approved in PBGC’s payment system with payments made by our paying agent after the check run; processing transactions that could not be submitted to our paying agent through the automated transmission process and payments made outside the normal check cycle (i.e. off-cycle payments).

5.1.4.3. Prepare Returned Check Reconciliation. The contractor shall prepare a complete and accurate reconciliation of all incoming returned checks each day for submission to PBGC’s lockbox.

5.1.5. Technology Support. The following technology support only applies to the PBGC facilities where there is no full time, onsite PBGC technology support, specifically, Euclid, OH , Miami (Doral), FL, and Wilmington, DE. The contractor shall perform the following technology support services at each location.

5.1.5.1. Install, move, add, and change IT equipment for end-users including desktops, laptops, monitors, cabling, IT supported local and network printers, IT supported phone hand and headsets per instruction from PBGC IT Infrastructure (ITIOD) technical staff.

5.1.5.2. Provide Registrar and Activator services utilizing the USAccess system. An enrollment consists of ID verification, scanning ID documents, taking a photograph and capturing fingerprints.

5.1.5.3. Coordinate with HQ staff with regards to enrollment activities. The contractor shall track all actions taken and communicate with HQ Personnel and Physical Security Staff to ensure timeliness of Security and Pre-screening requirements. The contractor shall also provide activation, certificate update, credential update, pin unlock/reset and other functions as assigned relating to PIV activities directed by Personnel and Physical Security. The contractor will also comply with any and all training requirements associated with holding an Activator and Registrar role within USAccess at the cost of the Government.

5.1.5.4. Receive delivery of PBGC’s equipment, parts and supplies shipped to the locations as well as ship back any faulty equipment or excess supplies.

5.1.5.5. Record any movement and/or updates to asset location or assignments and provide this information via e-mail to the COR and PBGC IT Asset Management Team within 3 business days of any change.

5.1.5.6. Re-image desktop and laptop operating systems per instructions from ITIOD staff upon request.

5.1.5.7. Assist with testing / validating IT infrastructure change by providing input on infrastructure performance upon request and by attending and reporting issues or challenges during monthly status meetings.

5.1.5.8. Coordinate with local facilities support requirements as required by the COR (e.g. HVAC and power problems.)

5.1.5.9. Report issues with desktop and networked printers to ITIOD technical staff in accordance with PBGC procedures and serve as the point of contact for vendor supported (leased) printers.

5.1.5.10. Ensure that IT support is for PBGC systems users in each location is directed to the IT Service Desk.

5.1.5.11. Ensure that databases, applications files, and user profiles are not created locally without permission of the COR.

5.2. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT AND DOCUMENT INTAKE The contractor shall provide staff at the Washington, DC headquarters location to perform the following functions. The contractor shall adhere to the proper handling of electronic and physical records, including securely maintaining and destroying physical copies as appropriate. The work provided under this task area will be performed as a firm-fixed price as outlined in the pricing schedule. Based on historical experience, this has been routinely performed successfully by 3 supervisors and 18 General Clerk III.

5.2.1. Process Incoming Mail. The contractor shall retrieve, prepare, index, scan or electronically upload the daily incoming mail from the PBGC P.O. Box. PBGC currently maintains its P.O.

Box for incoming participant communications in the Alexandria, VA area. Mail is delivered to PBGC (headquarters) by 11:00 AM each day. The contractor shall scan in all the mail received daily by the end of that business day and ensure that physical records are properly stored or destroyed as appropriate.

5.2.2. Scan or Upload Plan and Participant Documents. The contractor shall prepare, index, scan or electronically upload into PBGC’s system of record all plan and participant source records, case processing supporting documentation, and any other records requested to be scanned or uploaded into plan or participant files by PBGC staff. All scanned information must meet the both the quality (properly indexed & legible) and timeliness standards.

5.2.3. Administrative Support Services. Activities include support for both OBA and two additional PBGC organizations for filing, scanning, copying, document research and retrieval, data entry into spreadsheets, data entry into Microsoft Access databases or other PBGC software tools, creating spreadsheets and word processing files, and tracking activities or inventories using lists, and converting files from one format to another (paper to electronic) or PDF to Microsoft Excel, Word, etc. using PBGC-provided tools, and compiling packages in support of third party invoices. The support for the non-OBA organizations has routinely been performed successfully by 6 General Clerk III (included in the 18 above.)

5.3. PARTICIPANT DATABASE BUILDING SUPPORT

PBGC constructs a participant database using source documents obtained from the prior plan administrator or third-party pension provider. The source documents could be in various forms such as paper, electronic media, microfilm/fiche, etc. Databases are compiled using PBGC’s database building tool (LEO, a tool built in Microsoft Access). The participant database serves as the basis for the actuarial calculations for each plan participant. The contractor shall support the database building activities as directed. This support may include but not limited to, data manipulation, data entry, participant data research, reconciliation and validation activities and quality assurance for participant databases.

5.4. TASK AREA 5.4 NOT USED

5.5. CUSTOMER CONTACT CENTER (CCC)

The contractor shall operate PBGC’s CCC and provide Tier 1 call center support to PBGC customers. The CCC responds to telephone inquiries weekdays, except Federal Holidays, during the hours of 8 AM to 7 PM Eastern Time.

5.5.1. Transition to Customer Contact to New Facility. The contractor shall transition the work from the incumbent vendor at the end of the existing contract based on the specified schedule.

5.5.2. Tier 1 Services. The contractor shall provide Tier 1 services which include but are not limited to the following:

• Verifying customer identities in accordance with PBGC policies and procedures and without disclosing the individual’s PII.

• Responding to multi-channel inquiries (telephone, email, voicemail, fax, web services)

• Researching lost checks

• Sending income verification letters

• Updating participant information such as beneficiary, tax withholding, address, phone, email, or payment destinations

• Provide system support for PBGC’s online service, MyPBA

• Providing replacement 1099-Rs

• Transferring complex inquiries to the Tier 2 call team(s) (see Section 5.1.1.1)

5.5.3. Bilingual Customer Service Representative (Spanish). The contractor shall provide a contingent of staff who are proficient in speaking both English and Spanish.

5.5.4. Quality Monitoring, Calibration & Training. The contractor shall perform call monitoring to ensure quality performance objectives are met for “soft skills” (i.e. Greeting. Service Orientation, Issue Identification, Issue Resolution, Communication, Call Management, and Technical Proficiency). The contractor shall be required to participate with PBGC’s federal staff and an independent vendor for joint calibration sessions.

5.6. ENHANCED PARTICIPANT LOCATOR SERVICE

The contractor shall provide, upon request, third-party services to locate missing/unlocatable participants that could not be found using PBGC’s commercially available service.

SECTION 6 CONTRACTOR QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM

The contractor shall develop and maintain an effective quality control program to ensure services are performed in accordance with this PWS, OBA Manuals, Standard Operating Procedure, protection of PBGC data, etc. The contractor shall dedicate the appropriate staff to provide the quality assurance/review function for the various task areas. The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. The contractor’s quality control program is how the contractor assures the work complies with the requirements of the contract. At a minimum, the contractor shall develop quality control procedures that address the areas identified in the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) in Section 11. The contractor shall be responsible for the quality associated with all tasks contained in this PWS and resulting task orders. The contractor shall submit a Quality Control (QC) Plan as part of their technical proposal. The QC Plan shall contain sufficient detail as to how the quality standards will be met..

SECTION 7 MEETINGS, DELIVERABLES, AND DELIVERY SCHEDULE

The contractor shall deliver the following reports for some or all the areas associated with this PWS.

Additional reports may be requested. Each task order will identify the specific reports or meetings required.

7.1 Periodic Progress Meetings

The Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), and other Government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the contractor to review the contractor's performance. At these meetings the contracting officer will inform the contractor about how the government views the contractor's performance. The contractor shall inform the Government of problems affecting performance, contract deliverables, or customer service.

7.2 Initial Transition Meeting

Within two (2) weeks of contract award, the contractor and PBGC personnel will meet at PBGC’s offices in Washington, DC to hold a kick-off meeting.

7.3 Monthly Project Scheduling Meetings

The contractor shall meet with the COR and the other government representatives monthly to discuss issues, progress on assigned work products, and upcoming target dates. This meeting may be held at the PBGC location in Washington, DC, by telephone conference, video conference or Skype. The contractor shall provide the meeting agenda 2 business days prior to the meeting and meeting minutes with action items 2 business days after the meeting.

7.4 Weekly Status Reporting

The contractor shall submit a weekly status report by Noon each Thursday to the COR and designated government representatives. The status report will include tasks completed during the reported week, participant matters which require escalation, discussion of issues or problems encountered to include system outages that may impact timely delivery of work items, and projected significant activities for the subsequent week. PBGC and the contractor shall mutually agree on the exact format of the status report.

7.5 Quarterly Calibration Sessions

The contractor shall participate in quarterly call monitoring calibration sessions with PBGC staff and a PBGC contractor. This meeting may be held via Skype, conference call or in person at designated field office facility.

7.6 Contractor Staff Listing

The contractor shall submit to the COR by the last business day of each month a cumulative listing of contract staff for the contract period including newly acquired, terminated, and currently on contract staff.

7.7 Monthly Management Report

PBGC and the contractor shall mutually agree on the exact format of the management report. The contractor shall submit to the COR a management report that addresses, at a minimum:

• Burn rate analysis to show cumulative dollars and hours expended by labor category and CLIN. The report shall reflect the percentage of the contract ceiling incurred through the reporting period for each CLIN.

• Metrics

• Accomplishments during the previous period.

• Anticipated accomplishments for the next period.

• Pending problems and possible or proposed solutions.

• Identification of items requiring escalation.

• Customer service issues and/or suggested procedure or script changes.

7.8 Standard Operating Procedures

The contractor shall develop SOPs for certain tasks as requested.

7.9 Ad Hoc Reports

The contractor shall provide other reports as required/requested by the COR or designated government representative.

7.10 Corrective Action Plan(s)

The contractor shall provide corrective action plans for remediation of processing deficiencies and compliance reviews as requested.

7.11 Telework Policy

The contractor shall submit a telework policy within 30 (calendar) days after contractor award.

7.12 Facility Sign-in & Out Visitor Logs

The contractor shall submit via email to Workplacesolutions@pbgc.gov. the sign-in and out visitor logs on the last business day of each fiscal year quarter end (December, March, June & September) for the government provided facilities, except for the PBGC headquarter location.

7.13 Deliverables

The contractor shall produce the following deliverables.

Deliverables Chart Deliverable Due Date Format & Person to be

Delivered to Process Improvement Recommendations

Quarterly Word document provided to the COR and designated government representatives.

Quality Control Plan Draft to be provided with Technical Proposal; Final to be submitted 60 days after award

Word document due to Contracting Officer

Agenda for Monthly Meeting and follow-up meeting minutes

Agenda - 2 (two) business days prior to scheduled meeting. Minutes – 2 (two) business days after monthly meeting.

Agenda - Word document provided to the COR and designated government representatives with accompanying project schedule, as needed.

Minutes – Word document provided to the COR and designated government representatives.

Weekly Status Report Noon each Thursday Word document provided to the COR and designated government representatives

Quarterly Calibration Report & Session

Call quality monitoring report to be delivered 2 business days prior to scheduled meeting

Word document provided to the COR and designated government representatives

Contractor Staff Listing Last business day of each month

Excel spreadsheet, submitted to the COR and any designated government representatives.

mailto:Workplacesolutions@pbgc.gov

Deliverable Due Date Format & Person to be Delivered to

Monthly Management Report 15th day (calendar) after each month end.

Excel spreadsheet or approved format agreed upon by COR and contractor. Submitted through SharePoint site to COR and designated government representative.

Standard Operating Procedure Updates

30 calendar days after the end of each fiscal year quarter (Jan, Apr, Jul & Oct)

Word Document provided to the COR or designated government representative.

Ad Hoc Reports As Requested Format to be agreed upon by COR and contractor. Submitted to COR.

Corrective Action Plan 10 calendar days after request Word document delivered to COR.

Telework Policy 30 calendar days after contract award Word document provided to COR and Contracting Officer.

Facility Visitor Sign-in 7 Out logs

Last business day of each fiscal year quarter (December, March, June & September)

Pdf copies submitted via email to Workplacesolutions@pbgc.gov.

SECTION 8 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT, AND SERVICES

8.1 General

Unless otherwise directed, the government shall provide the Contractor with facilities, equipment and software needed to perform the services outlined in the PWS. Cost incurred for travel, third party training and general office supplies, except those indicated below, will be reimbursed in accordance with the solicitation clause PBGC-44-001 OTHER DIRECT COSTS.

8.2 Facilities

The Government will furnish the necessary workspace for the contractor staff to carry out the tasks in the PWS. Examples include, but are not limited to:

Equipment

• Furniture

• Copiers

• Printers

• Image Scanning Equipment

• Smartboard

• Video-conferencing equipment

• PCs (Laptops)/Monitors

• Telephones

• Fax Machines

• Headsets

• Conference Rooms

• Breakroom Refrigerator Office Supplies mailto:Workplacesolutions@pbgc.gov

• Paper Supplies for Copiers and Printers

• Toner

• Note: PBGC currently uses NEC for phone and ACD systems, Nortel Electronics for its IVR and Qfinity eTalk for its recordings across all locations. During FY19, PBGC will replace the NEC and the IVR with new technology.

8.3 Automated Processing Systems

The contractor shall be granted access to PBGC network to complete all tasks associated with this solicitation. The contractor shall qualify for access to the PBGC network upon the completion of entry-on-duty and other mandatory trainings, including the Information Security and Privacy Awareness training.

Contractors must maintain such qualification to perform services under this PWS. The contractor shall utilize the following authorized PBGC systems, applications, and tools to perform services required by this PWS. PBGC shall provide appropriate training on these systems in accordance with Section H. These systems may include, but are not limited to:

• Spectrum

• PBGC Document Management System (Image Viewer)

• Customer Relations Management System (CRM)

• Leo

• Actuarial Calculation Toolkit (ACT)/Archive

• Case Management System (CMS)

• Primavera P6

• Approval Worklist Application (AWA)

• PLUS (third-party paying agent system)

• Customer Correspondence System (CCS)

• Participant Locator Tool (Commercially available search tool)

• Electronic Check Action Request Form (eCARF), SharePoint data entry site

• PDF to Excel software

• SharePoint

• Payment Adjustment Calculation System (PACS)

• COGNOS

• ARES

(See Attachment E for glossary description of systems, applications and tools)

SECTION 9 PLACE(S) OF PERFORMANCE

The work under this contract shall be performed at PBGC provided facilities located as follows: PBGC headquarters in Washington, DC, Euclid, OH, Miami, FL, and Wilmington, DE. If required to perform data collection, the contractor shall travel to the plan sponsor and/or plan administrator locations.

The contractor shall establish a telework program to allow qualified staff with suitable work to perform work at a remote/alternate location. Telework can be used to perform suitable tasks outlined in the PWS and during office closure events or COOP situations. The contractor shall submit for approval by the COR a copy of its telework policy and procedures 30 calendar days after contract award prior to implementation. Telework must abide by PBGC’s policies regarding, information security, protecting sensitive information and use of PBGC’s IT resources as referenced at:

https://www.pbgc.gov/about/procurement/procurement-management-directives

SECTION 10 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance shall be a base period of twelve (12) months upon date of award. PBGC may extend the period of performance by exercising as many as four (4) option periods of twelve months each.

Each task order written under this IDIQ will contain a period of performance of up to 12 months, which may be extended by PBGC by exercising as many as four (4) option periods of twelve months each..

SECTION 11 GOVERNMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN

(QASP)

Title: Field Office Support Services (FOSS)

Purpose: This QASP specifically corresponds to the PWS Section 5, Performance Requirement (Tasks).

Section 5 of the PWS discusses what work is to be performed and to what outputs or outcomes the Government expects and to what specification. The QASP provides a surveillance plan sufficient to ensure acceptable performance.

Objective: The objective of this Surveillance Plan is to evaluate the contractor’s performance against the required services outlined in this solicitation.

Surveillance Method by Performance Area:

Surveillance described:

• To minimize the contract administration burden, the Government shall use simplified methods of surveillance techniques to evaluate contractor performance. COR or designated government representative reviews are generally conducted methods of surveillance for this effort. In addition to the methods discussed below, additional methods such as random checks, observations, inspections, customer feedback and review of work product deliverables may be included. The Government will use appointed representatives familiar with the subject area as sources of comments on the contractor’s performance.

• PBGC expects the contractor to establish and maintain professional communication between its employees and our customers, both internal and external. Customer satisfaction is one of the most significant indicators of the success and effectiveness of services provided. PBGC can generally measure this through customer complaints.

Reporting Results:

• Thirty business days after the end of each Fiscal Quarter the COR will prepare a written report for the Contracting Officer that summarizes the overall results of the quality assurance surveillance of the Contractor’s performance.

• A copy will be maintained in the COR file.

• Unsatisfactory Performance:

Unsatisfactory contract performance, performance not meeting the AQL will be reported by the COR immediately to the Contracting Officer (CO).

Performance Requirement Summary (PRS) Table Section 5 Reference

Required Service Performance Standard

Acceptable Quality Level (AQL)*

Surveillance Method

5.1.1.1 and 5.1.1.4

Tier 2 Call Quality Monitoring

Recorded telephone calls meet requirements for “Soft Skills” and

95% Soft Skills score achieved

90% Technical accuracy score achieved

Third party quality assurance assessor;

statistical

Reference

Required Service Performance Standard

Acceptable Quality Level (AQL)*

Surveillance Method

Technical accuracy sampling of monthly calls

5.1.1.1 – 5.1.1.3

Customer inquiries are resolved and closed out appropriately

Customer interactions are resolved and closed appropriately

95% of inquiries received are resolved and closed appropriately

Random inspection by the government

5.1.1.3 Spanish Translation

(written)

Translation requests are translated accurately

95% of translations are completed accurately

Random inspection by the government

5.1.1.5 Benefit applications

received with missing information, unclear information or missing proof documents preventing payment approval are followed up on timely

Incomplete benefit applications received are followed up on within 5 days of receipt

95% of incomplete applications received are followed up on within 5 days of receipt

Report provided by the contractor

Random inspection by the government and customer surveys

5.1.1.5 Assisting customers

with incomplete benefit applications within specified timeframes

Benefit application packages sent more than 120 days old are followed up on to see if a completed benefit application has been received

100% of outstanding benefit applications greater than 120 days old receive a follow up phone call and offer of assistance

Report provided by the contractor

Random inspection and customer surveys

5.1.1.5 Processing completed

benefit applications within established timeframes.

Completed applications are processed within 45 days

Completed Applications are completed within 60 days

87% of completed applications are processed within 45 days of receipt.

90% of completed applications are

Automated report metric

Required Service Performance Standard

Acceptable Quality Level (AQL)*

Surveillance Method processed within 60 days of receipt.

5.1.1.5 Benefit payments, to

include benefit adjustments are processed accurately

Payments processed are completed accurately

98% of benefit payments, to include benefit adjustments are completed accurately in accordance with policies and procedures

Statistical sample selected throughout the year

5.1.1.7 Process QDROs, POAs and Guardianships

Received documents are processed accurately in accordance with established policies and procedures

98% of received documents are processed accurately

Random inspection

5.1.2.2 Completes plan

assumption (plan-intake processes to include 1st pay , and customer dataloads, reconciliation memorandums, trusteeship letter issuance and Payee Data review) timely and accurately

Plan assumption activities are completed within 180 days of trusteeship or earlier

90% of activities are completed on time

Automated report metric

5.1.2.5 Issue Benefit

Determination Letters timely after software closeout

Participants with valid addresses are issued benefit determination letters

98% of participants with valid addresses are issued BDs within 90 days of software closeout

Automated report metric

Required Service Performance Standard

Acceptable Quality Level (AQL)*

Surveillance Method

5.1.3.1 Maintain Participant

files in accordance with established procedures

Participant files are maintained accurately in Document Management System

100% of participant files

Random inspection by the government

5.1.4 Recovery cases are

resolved within standard timeframes

Recovery cases are resolved within 180 days (written off, recovered, or referred to Treasury for collection)

90% of recovery cases are resolved (written off, recovered, or referred to Treasury) within 180 days of discovery

100% review by the government

5.1.4.3 Check Processing -

Prepare returned check reconciliation

Reconciliation is complete and accurate

100% of reconciliations are completed accurately

100% inspection by government

5.2.1 Process Incoming Mail Incoming mail is

processed timely

100% of incoming mail is scanned into Document Management System the same day it was received

Reports provided by the contractor

5.2.1 Document preparation

and scanning are completed timely (plan and participant records)

Plan and participant records are scanned and made available to users within established timeframe

95% of requests are completed timely

Random inspection by the government

5.2.3 Conversion of

Electronic Documents

Converted documents are completed accurately

98% of conversions are completed accurately

Random

Required Service Performance Standard

Acceptable Quality Level (AQL)*

Surveillance Method

5.3 Participant Database

Building Support

Data entry is completed accurately in accordance with written instructions provided

95% of data elements entered is done correctly

Statistical sampling inspection by the government or designated representatives

5.3 Participant Database

Building Support

Database building activity is completed timely

95% of assigned tasks are completed timely

100% inspection by government

5.5 Customer Contact

Center (CCC)

Grade of Service

(GOS) *

80% of calls are answered from ACD within 20 seconds

Daily auto-generated report and review by the government

5.5 Customer Contact

Center (CCC)

Average Speed of Answer

(ASA)*

Calls are answered from ACD within an average of 30 seconds

Daily auto-generated report and review by the government

5.5 Customer Contact

Center (CCC)

Long Waiting Call (LWC)

Calls shall not remain in the queue for more than five (5) minutes

Daily auto-generated report and review by the government

5.5 Customer Contact

Center (CCC)

Call Quality (Soft Skills)

88 or higher Third party quality assurance assessor;

statistical sampling of monthly calls

5.5 Customer Contact

Center (CCC)

Call Quality (Technical Proficiency)

88 or higher Statistical sampling of monthly calls assessed by government

5.5 Customer Contact

Center (CCC)

Process Tier 1 transactions

95% within the same business day unless otherwise directed by the COR or

Random

Required Service Performance Standard

Acceptable Quality Level (AQL)*

Surveillance Method designated representative

5.5 Customer Contact

Center (CCC)

Respond to email inquiries and Pension Search Assistance

90% within 3 business days unless otherwise directed by the COR or designated representative

Random

Note: Grade of Service (GOS)measures how quickly a certain percentage (e.g. 80%) of incoming calls are answered within a service delivery standard timeframe (e.g., 20 seconds). Average Speed to Answer (ASA) measures the average speed (typically in seconds) that calls are answered, regardless of whether they met the Grade of Service (GOS) standard are not.

SECTION 12 OTHER REQUIREMENTS

12.1 HOURS OF OPERATION

Normal workdays are Monday through Friday except US Federal Holidays. Workers typically work eight

(8) hours per day, 40 hours per week. Flextime workers start not earlier than 6 AM. Office hours of work are from 7 AM to 7 PM daily Eastern Time. Periodically, the government may decide to close early, for events such as prior to federal holidays and weather events. During such times, the normal operating hours will be from 7AM to 5PM Eastern Time.

12.2 OFFICE CLOSURE

In the event of inclement weather, other temporary office closures, or situations that are particular to the facility, the contractor shall make the decision as to what is in the best interest of their employees, as to whether the facility will open or close early. Once the contractor decision is made, they shall contact the COR, the Customer Contact Center (if applicable) to inform them of the office closing, the reason for closing and to have phone calls held. The contractor shall also contact PBGC Workplace Solutions Department (WSD) with any concerns regarding facilities. The contractor shall contact the PBGC IT Service Desk for all equipment, software, server, router, or switch concerns. The contractor shall only bill for direct labor costs for hours worked.

12.4 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL

The contractor shall recruit and retain enough qualified personnel to perform the quantity and type of services required under this contract. Contractor personnel (including subcontractor personnel) performing work under this contract must meet the requirements for their labor categories as specified in Section H.

Resumes for required personnel under this contract shall be provided in accordance with the format provided in Attachment F. The contractor shall develop and maintain a staff retention program that will encourage continued employment of qualified staff. The contractor shall make provisions for dealing with unsatisfactory personnel. The contractor shall provide overall management of its employees, subcontractors and PBGC furnished equipment across all the facilities where the tasks under this PWS are performed.

The Contractor shall not bill for hours spent performing overhead services, such as preparing payroll, hiring employees, meeting with legal representatives, accountants, benefit providers, etc. directly to the contract.

12.4.1 Program Management

The contractor shall recruit a Program Manager who will serve as the focal point for coordinating task assignments and shall meet regularly with the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), Contracting Officer (CO) and other government designated representatives to review the status of the…