Amend 1_RFP 16PBGC24R0012.docx

SECTION M – EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

16PBGC24R0012

Premium Operations Support Services in support of:

Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation – Financial Operations Department

Conducted under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.

Issued by:

Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation 445 12th Street, SW Washington, D.C. 20024Attachm

September 23, 2024

PBGC Project Number APP 1561

Request For Proposal 16PBGC24R0012

B.1 ORDER TYPE

This contract is a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) type order with Not-to-Exceed (NTE) CLINs.

The contractor shall perform the effort required by this contract on a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) basis for:

a. Mandatory Labor Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) X001, X002, X003, X004, X005, X006, X007, X008, and X009.

The work shall be performed in accordance with all Sections of this contract. An acronym listing to support this Request for Proposal (RFP) is included in Section J – List of Attachments, Attachment B.

B.2 SERVICES AND PRICES

The following abbreviations are used in this price schedule:

B.2.1 BASE PERIOD:

MANDATORY FFP LABOR CLIN

TOTAL BASE PERIOD CLINs: $________________

B.2.2 FIRST OPTION PERIOD:

MANDATORY FFP CLIN

TOTAL FIRST OPTION PERIOD CLINs: $_______________

B.2.3 SECOND OPTION PERIOD:

MANDATORY FFP CLIN

TOTAL SECOND OPTION PERIOD CLINs: $_______________

B.2.4 THIRD OPTION PERIOD:

MANDATORY FFP CLIN

TOTAL THIRD OPTION PERIOD CLINs: $_______________

B.2.5 FOURTH OPTION PERIOD:

MANDATORY FFP CLIN

TOTAL FOURTH OPTION PERIOD CLINs: $_______________

GRAND TOTAL ALL CLINs (BASE + ALL OPTION PERIODS): $_______________

SECTION B – SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES

Request For Proposal 16PBGC24R0012 PAGE B-8

C.1 BACKGROUND

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a government-owned corporation established under Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974 to protect the retirement income of individuals and their beneficiaries who are covered under private sector defined benefit pension plans. PBGC insures basic benefits for approximately 25,000 such plans (customers) including multiemployer plans (ME). The PBGC protects the retirement benefits of over 31 million workers and retirees.

PBGC's revenue is derived from insurance premiums paid by insured pension plans, investment income, and recoveries from employers responsible for terminated underfunded defined benefit plans. Insurance premiums are based on a flat rate per participant and a variable rate premium (VRP) for underfunded plans.

C.1.1 PURPOSE

This purpose of this contract is to provide the PBGC's Financial Operations Department (FOD)/Collection and Compliance Division (CCD), with professional services in support of its premium operations programs including technical, financial, accounting, and auditing support. These support services are required to enable PBGC to: ensure an unqualified audit opinion is received for the Corporation’s annual financial statements; maintain PBGC's premium enforcement and debt collection program activities; to maintain critical accounting programs that include: i) financial reporting, ii) premium operations, iii) accounts receivable (AR), iv) accounts payable (AP), v) PBGC’s premium enforcement activities and vi) debt collection programs. Support services will strive to sustain the implementation, integration and maintenance of all current and new financial management and accounting systems, and ii) to provide quality customer service to premium payers and plan practitioners by providing prompt, accurate up to date and reliable premium information and account status.

C.1.2 AGENCY MISSION

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation protects the retirement incomes of over 31 million American workers in private sector defined benefit pension plans. A defined benefit plan provides a specified monthly benefit at retirement, often based on a combination of salary and years of service. PBGC was created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to encourage the continuation and maintenance of approximately 25,000 private-sector defined benefit pension plans, provide timely and uninterrupted payment of pension benefits, and keep pension insurance premiums at a minimum.

CCD's mission is to administer PBGC's premium program for the receipt, accounting, collection, and internal review of receivables including: PBGC insurance premiums, interest and penalties, ERISA Section 4071 penalties, and, to a much lesser extent, Due and Unpaid Employer Contributions (DUECs), employer liability under ERISA Section 4062, and participant recoveries.

PBGC’s premium program recorded $5.9 billion in net premium income for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 which consisted of $2.3 billion in flat rate premiums (FRP), $3.7 billion in variable rate premiums (VRP), $3 million in termination premiums, and $2 million in interest and penalty income; offset by $22 million to bad debt expense.

C.2 SCOPE

CCD is seeking a qualified contractor to provide operation support for the processing of annual premium filings and associated premium payments to the CCD. The services provided will focus on CCD’s premium operations to ensure full compliance with ERISA laws and regulations providing for payment of premiums. Additionally, the services provided will encompass the requirements below to assure the continuation of a fully functional premium accounting system capable of generating financial information to provide auditable annual financial statements; prompt, accurate and reliable premium information; and up-to-date account balances and statuses. Such contract service providers shall be accountable solely to the contractor who, in turn, is responsible to the Government.

C.3 OBJECTIVE

The contractor shall provide all personnel, supervision, and quality assurance to perform the services listed below in accordance with defined performance standards to provide a full range of technical, financial, and accounting support to administer the FOD/CCD’s premium operations program for the receipt, accounting, collection, and internal review of premium receivables. The services provided will focus on CCD’s premium operations to ensure full compliance with ERISA laws and regulations providing for payment of premiums.

C.4 PREMIUM OPERATIONS SUPPORT SERVICES TASKS

Specific tasks to be performed under the Performance Work Statement include:

Task 1 – Project Management Task 2 – Premium Filing & Payment Processing Task 3 – Suspense Processing Task 4 – Call Center, Customer Service & Communication Task 5 – Period Close Task 6 – Accounting, Financial Reporting & Audit Deliverables Task 7 – Validity Testing Task 8 – Correspondence Task 9 – Service Request Activity Task 10 – Past Due Filing Notices Task 11 – Statement of Accounts Task 12 – Form 5500 Data Processing Task 13 – Premium Calculations Task 14 – System & Software Testing Task 15 – Professional Development

C.4.1 TASK 1 – PROVIDE PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The contractor shall provide project management support under this contract. This includes the management and oversight of all activities performed by contractor personnel, including subcontractors, to satisfy the requirements identified in this Performance Work Statement (PWS).

C.4.1.1 SUBTASK 1.1 – COORDINATE A PROJECT KICK-OFF MEETING

The contractor shall schedule and coordinate a Project Kick-Off Meeting at the location approved by the Government Section F, (see Section F.3, Deliverable 2) or virtually.

The meeting shall provide an introduction between the contractor personnel and Government personnel who will be involved with the contract. The meeting shall provide the opportunity to discuss technical, management, and security issues, and reporting procedures. At a minimum, the attendees shall include the contractor’s Key Personnel, any relevant Government personnel, the PBGC Contracting Officer (CO), and the PBGC Contracting Officer Representative (COR).

At least three days prior to the Project Kick-Off Meeting, the contractor shall provide a Project Kick-Off Meeting Agenda (see Section F3, Deliverable 2) for review and approval by the PBGC COR prior to finalizing. The agenda shall include, at a minimum, the following topics/deliverables:

a. Points of Contact (POCs) for all parties.

b. Personnel discussion (i.e., roles and responsibilities and lines of communication between contractor and Government).

c. Transition-In Plan (see Section F.3, Deliverable 5) and discussion.

d. Security discussion and requirements (i.e., building access, badges, Common Access Cards (CACs)).

e. Financial requirements including financial reporting and invoicing.

f. Quality Management Plan (see Section F.3, Deliverable 4).

The Government will provide the contractor with the number of Government participants for the Project Kick-Off Meeting, and the contractor shall provide copies of the presentation for all in attendance.

The contractor shall draft and provide a Project Kick-Off Meeting Minutes Report (Section F Deliveries or Performance, Deliverable 3) documenting the Project Kick-Off Meeting discussion and capturing any action items.

C.4.1.1.2 SUBTASK 1.2 – PREPARE A MONTHLY STATUS REPORT

The contractor shall develop and provide a Monthly Status Report (MSR) (see Section F.3, Deliverable 1). The MSR shall include the following:

a. Activities during the reporting period, by task (include ongoing activities, new activities, activities completed, and progress to date on all the above-mentioned activities). Each section shall start with a brief description of the task.

b. Problems and corrective actions taken. Also include issues or concerns and proposed resolutions to address them.

c. Personnel gains, losses, and status.

d. Government actions required.

e. Schedule (show major tasks, milestones, and deliverables; planned and actual start and completion dates for each).

f. Accumulated invoiced amount for each CLIN up to the previous month.

g. Projected amount of each CLIN for the current month.

C.4.1.2 SUBTASK 2 –PROVIDE QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLAN

The contractor shall identify and implement its approach for providing and ensuring quality throughout its solution to meet the requirements of the contract.

The contractor shall provide a Quality Management Plan (QMP) and maintain and update it as changes in the program processes are identified (see Section F.3, Deliverable 4). The contractor’s QMP shall describe the application of the appropriate methodology (i.e., quality control and/or quality assurance) for accomplishing contract performance expectations and objectives. The QMP shall describe how the appropriate methodology integrates with the Government’s requirements.

C.4.1.3 SUBTASK 1.3 – TRANSITION-IN

The contractor shall provide a Transition-In Plan (see Section F.3, Deliverable 5).

The contractor shall ensure that there will be minimum service disruption to vital Government business and no service degradation during and after transition. The contractor shall implement its Transition-In Plan No Later Than (NLT) 60 calendar days after award, and all transition activities shall be completed 60 calendar days after Project Start (PS).

C.4.1.4 SUBTASK 1.4 – TRANSITION-OUT

The contractor shall provide transition-out support when required by the Government.

The Transition-Out Plan shall facilitate the accomplishment of a seamless transition from the incumbent to incoming contractor/Government personnel at the expiration of the contract. The contractor shall provide a Transition-Out Plan within three months of contract end date (see Section F.3, Deliverable 6). The contractor shall review and update the Transition-Out Plan in accordance with the specifications in Section E.

In the Transition-Out Plan, the contractor shall identify how it will coordinate with the incoming contractor and/or Government personnel to transfer knowledge regarding the following:

a. Project management processes.

b. Points of contact.

c. Location of technical and project management documentation.

d. Status of ongoing technical initiatives.

e. Appropriate contractor to contractor coordination to ensure a seamless transition.

f. Transition of Key Personnel roles and responsibilities.

g. Schedules and milestones.

h. Actions required of the Government.

The contractor shall also establish and maintain effective communication with the incoming contractor/Government personnel for the period of the transition via weekly status meetings or as often as necessary to ensure a seamless transition-out.

The contractor shall implement its Transition-Out Plan NLT six months prior to expiration of the contract.

C.4.2 TASK 2 – PREMIUM FILING & PAYMENT PROCESSING

C.4.2.1. SUBTASK 2.1 – MONITOR SYSTEM PROCESSING

The contractor shall monitor system processing to ensure that premium filing and payment data is received.

a. All defined benefit pension plans covered by Title IV of ERISA are subject to PBGC premium payment requirements. Plan Administrators (PA) calculate their premiums in accordance with PBGC instructions, file electronically, and pay premiums to PBGC by a specified due date. PBGC is required by statute to accrue interest on late past due premiums and assess penalties when premiums are unpaid or paid late.

b. Two types of plans are required to file PBGC premiums: single-employer (SE) pension plans and multiemployer (ME) pension plans. In accordance with ERISA, the PBGC assesses a flat rate per participant per year for both SE and ME plans. In addition, a single-employer plan may also pay a variable rate premium (VRP) if the present value of the plan’s unfunded vested benefits exceeds the plan’s assets.

c. All plans have mandated filing due dates for submitting annual premium filings. Premium filing due dates occur monthly based on a plan’s “plan year commencing date”, but over 80% of annual premium filings have a due date in October. This corresponds to plans having a “calendar year” plan year. It is mandatory for all post 2014 filings to be filed electronically through the My Plan Administrator Account (My PAA), PBGC’s online premium filing system. My PAA integrates premium data from PBGC’s internal premium accounting module and allows practitioners to view outgoing mailed correspondence as well as allows practitioners to remit premium payments online when associated with a filing.

C.4.2.2 SUBTASK 2.2 – MONITOR DATA TRANSFER TO PREMIUM PRACTIONER SYSTEM

The contractor shall monitor the transfer of data to the Premium Practitioner System (PPS) for processing, maintenance, and storage in order to provide efficient operations.

a. The PPS is PBGC’s internal accounting application which processes, stores and maintains the incoming premium filing and payment data from My PAA and other payment sources. PPS includes a myriad of automated jobs that are run to process premium data, including the calculation of premium, interest, and penalty due from each pension plan; applies cash received against amounts due to the PBGC; and automatically generates outgoing correspondence letters based on different premium data inputs (see C.4.2.2 (e)).

b. PPS includes two modules, the Customer Relationship Module (CRM) and the Trading Community Architecture Module (TCA). The TCA stores the processed premium data at a plan year level and the CRM provides CCD a way to manage actions arising from premium filing and payment processing using automated Service Requests (SRs). There are numerous different SR types requiring action based on different premium data trigger points. PPS is subject to the processing and reporting rules in Title IV of the ERISA of 1974 and Pension Protection Act of 2006. The policies and procedures followed by PPS Operations and CCD may be modified by changes in legislation, regulations, or PBGC policies and procedures.

c. The CCD administers programs for the receipt, accounting, collection, and internal review of receivables, including: PBGC insurance premiums, termination premium, interest and penalties, ERISA Section 4071 penalties, and Due and Unpaid Employer Contributions (DUEC's), and employer liability under ERISA Section 4062; and to review pension plan information to ensure full compliance with laws and regulations providing for payment of premiums.

d. System processing involves both internal and external interfaces.

e. Internal interfaces with PPS include:

· My PAA, an online Premium Filing and payment submission operating as a two-way data transfer with PPS: My PAA receives filings from practitioners and transmits those filings to PPS for further processing. PPS transfers plan information to My PAA through web services.

PBGC’s Consolidated Financial System (CFS), which is an Oracle Financial System (OFS) used as the financial system of record to produce PBGC financial statements.

· Customer Correspondence System (CCS), enables the automatic processing of pending letters based on data provided by PPS, including downstream printing, mailing, and imaging.

· Case Management System (CMS) is PBGC’s system used to support the Standard Termination and Compliance Division (STCD). CMS enables the processing of information related to Coverage Determination, Plan Terminations, Trusteeships and Bankruptcy cases. This data is received by PPS.

· Case/Legal Management System (CLMS) is PBGC’s new monitoring system for the Office of Negotiations and Restructuring (ONR) and the Office of General Council (OGC).

· Image Processing System (IPS) is PBGC’s imaging system. Data is sent to and from PPS. PPS prepares and transfers filing images to IPS through web services. Images are retrieved by users using the IPS web application. IPS automatically creates SRs within PPS based upon the Re-indexing process.

f. External interfaces with PPS include:

· Pay.gov is a system operated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and is a web-based application that allows online payments to government agencies by electronic check, credit card, or by debit from a checking or savings account.

EFAST2 - Form 5500 processing – filing details are provided from the Department of Labor (DOL) for premium data matching purposes in PPS. PPS loads and reconciles Form 5500 filing data with Premium filings.

· Central Information Repository (CIR) is Federal Source system for Automated Clearing House (ACH) and Fedwire premium payments.

· Treasury (Fed Debt) enables referral of pre-delinquent receivables to Treasury for collection and enables the referral of delinquent for uncollectable receivables to Treasury for further collection action. This is done by pulling the daily Data Loader Report from PPS. This report includes incoming daily filings and payment batches, and the IPS load column, ensuring that images were created during system processing, where applicable.

C.4.2.3 SUBTASK 2.3 – DAILY CASH RECONCILIATION

The contractor shall reconcile incoming premium cash batches daily to ensure the five payment methods reconcile to PPS and produce a daily cash reconciliation package (see Section F.3, Deliverable 7).

a. This involves identifying and preparing the transfer of funds (TF) packages, as necessary, to remove funds erroneously sent to CCD.

b. When reconciling, it may be necessary to notify PBGC of problems/issues. The procedures for this include opening a problem ticket with the technical team if needed and following up until the issue is resolved (batches/transactions successfully load/post, etc.) or the ticket is closed.

c. All deliverables must comply with and adhere to PBGC policies and procedures as well as the department’s accounting policy and CCD procedures. A copy of the primary procedure, Ch 28, Cash Reconciliation, will be provided to the awardee upon request.

C.4.3 TASK 3 – SUSPENSE PROCESSING

C.4.3.1 SUBTASK 3.1 – RESOLVE SUSPENDED ITEMS

The contractor shall investigate and clear suspended items so that filings and/or payments post properly to customer accounts.

a. Premium filings and payments that do not automatically process after being loaded into PPS become suspended items. These suspended filings and payments are tracked via Envelope Correction Service Requests. Associated Notice of Filing Error (NFE) letters are concurrently mailed to plans when an Envelope Correction SR is automatically created in PPS.

b. All deliverables must comply with and adhere to PBGC policies and procedures as well as the department’s accounting policy and CCD procedures. A copy of the primary procedure, Ch 10, Suspense, will be provided to the awardee upon request.

C.4.3.1.1 The contractor shall identify, analyze and validate all Envelope Correction SRs by making the required corrections in order for the filing or payment to successfully process.

C.4.3.1.2 The contractor shall contact associated practitioners (e.g., Plan Administrator, actuary, third party administrator, etc.) via email/phone for clarifying information needed to correct the failed filing/payment

C.4.3.1.3 The contractor shall respond to associated customer inquiries and questions.

C.4.3.1.4 The contractor shall follow up with customers and document the communication.

C.4.3.1.5 The contractor shall obtain approval to perform account balance or plan information updates.

C.4.3.1.6 The contractor shall determine if the transaction is corrected, then update/close SRs when applicable.

C.4.3.1.7 The contractor shall provide a monthly Aging Suspense SR report detailing aged / unresolved Envelope Correction SRs which have existed for more than 30 days at the time of the deliverable(see Section F.3, Deliverable 8).

C.4.4 TASK 4 – CALL CENTER, CUSTOMER SERVICE AND COMMUNICATION

The call center is an integral part of the contract. A significant part of PBGC's premium operations and processing effort involves direct customer care through responsiveness to telephone calls, emails, and other written correspondence from practitioners. The request may be initiated by a phone inquiry, e-mails via My PAA or written correspondence via the My PAA correspondence quick link. Practitioners frequently contact PBGC to inquire about the plan's account status, to resolve issues and discrepancies in the account balances, and to request other information. The inquiries require research and timely resolution.

C.4.4.1 SUBTASK 4.1 – OPERATE A CUSTOMER CALL CENTER

The contractor shall operate a customer service call center to help plan practitioners make timely and accurate premium filings and payments.

a. The following table displays approximate volumes for each work category as well as customer contact volume by the premium operations staff.

Table 1 - Documents and Volumes (approximate)

(Levels 00, 01, 02, 03)

(PD, 55, VP, PW, CL)

C.4.4.2 SUBTASK 4.2 –PREMIUM CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER STAFFING

The contractor shall staff and manage PBGC’s Premium Customer Service Center (PCSC) to address customer requests, questions, and concerns pertaining to the premium filing process.

a. The PCSC core hours of operation are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time (ET), business days, except for Federal Holidays.

b. The PCSC may close early on the business day prior to a federal holiday based on Government approval or due to a planned system outage.

c. Historically, from November through August, there is a range of 15-40 calls per day throughout the year.

d. Historically, September through October is the highest call volume, where there is a range of 30-150 calls per day.

e. The Government provided Cisco Finesse system, a Work Force Management (WFM) and Quality Management (QM) system, is used for monitoring, scheduling, maintaining, and reporting staffing levels for the PCSC.

The contractor shall ensure adequate contract staff is logged in and available for incoming phone calls each business day. Extended hours and additional personnel are required for peak filing season (Sept-Oct).

C.4.4.3 SUBTASK 4.3 – ANSWER CALLS TIMELY

The contractor shall answer calls within 15 seconds of receipt, in English.

a. The Government uses a Cisco-based telephony system, and the team is required to use Cisco Finesse to accept phone calls and update their call availability status.

C.4.4.4 SUBTASK 4.4 – RESOLVE PRACTITIONER REQUESTS/INCIDENTS

The contractor shall resolve practitioner requests from members of the defined benefit pension community, including but not limited to: Plan Administrators, third-party representatives, actuaries, legal appointees, and/or any other members of the Plan’s premium filing team.

a. Practitioners contact PBGC to inquire about the plan's account status, to resolve issues and discrepancies in their Plan’s premium account balances. Contract staff are expected to be proficient in the premium filing submission process, as most incoming practitioner incidents involve assisting the customer as they navigate PBGC’s online premium filing website, My PAA. Practitioners historically have contacted PBGC to inquire about the plan's account status, as well as to resolve issues and discrepancies in their Plan’s premium account balances

b. The My PAA Agent Web administrative module houses all practitioner contact data and is used to record and initiate all customer interactions. The public-facing component of My PAA has Knowledge Articles which include a myriad of procedures and steps necessary to complete standard practitioner requests via My PAA.

c. There are recurring, automated practitioner-initiated incidents in differing categories, which require action from call center agents to resolve via the My PAA Agent Web.

d. Incoming emails sent from practitioners create an automated Agent Web incident with the Category/Product: Email/Contact PBGC. This incident type must be worked in order of receipt and first contact (email response back to the practitioner via the Agent Web) must be made within one business day. A “Disposition” must be saved to close this incident prior to resolution.

e. Practitioners also have the ability to utilize the “Ask a Question” feature on the public-facing My PAA website. This submission also creates an automated Agent Web incident with the System Source: Ask a Question. This incident type must be worked in order of receipt and first contact (email response back to the practitioner via the Agent Web) must be made within one business day. A “Disposition” must be saved to close this incident prior to resolution.

f. Automated Agent Web incidents with the Product/Category: Plan Management/Add a Plan with an incident status of “Waiting” require immediate attention from the contractor if the request is for a plan year which has a premium filing due date within the next 5 days (i.e., if the incident is created on October 11th, when the premium filing is due October 15th, then immediate practitioner response is required, as to not impact a timely premium filing). Add a Plan incidents are resolved by adding a new/existing My PAA practitioner (contact) to an existing plan, which is already established in My PAA. A “Disposition” must be saved to close this incident prior to resolution. If the request is not for a plan year which has a premium filing due date within the next 5 days, actions need to be taken within three business days. A “Disposition” must be saved to close this incident prior to resolution.

C.4.4.5 SUBTASK 4.5 – MAINTAIN CALL CENTER SCRIPTS

The contractor shall utilize Government-approved call center scripts when applicable, based on common PCSC scenarios, or draft new call center scripts as necessary, and submit to Government for approval.

C.4.4.6 SUBTASK 4.6 – DOCUMENT SUMMARY OF CALL

The contractor shall log a summary of all incoming phone calls which are not transferred to another PBGC department in the My PAA Agent Web.

a. All calls should be recorded in the My PAA Agent Web administrative module as a new “incident” with the following Category: “Phone Call – Incoming”.

b. The name of caller, call back phone number, caller email (if available), and reason for call are required for all newly created incidents, at a minimum.

c. A “Disposition” must be saved for any open incident prior to resolution.

C.4.4.7 SUBTASK 4.7 – PCSC MONTHLY REPORT

The Contractor shall generate a monthly report detailing the PCSC tasks (see Section F.3, Deliverable 9).

a. The Government will provide a template to be used for creating the monthly report, which includes calls received, answered, time to answer, Agent Web incidents received and resolved.

b. The Government reserves the right to make edits to the format and content in the future.

C.4.5 TASK 5 – PERIOD CLOSE

C.4.5.1 SUBTASK 5.1 – Period End Close Schedule Notification

The contractor shall notify Federal staff when the period end (PE) process shall commence per the following published procedure document and monthly schedules (circulated in advance; see Section F.3, Deliverable 34).

a. The Period Close Financial Reporting Procedure - Distinguishes contractor and Federal steps. This procedure document will be provided upon award.

b. The Month-End (ME) close schedule and PPS Processing Calendar - Published monthly, sets specific milestones for the upcoming PE close.

Contractor notification includes the deadline to submit transactions for approval before Month End close. Included in the ME notification are the following, but not limited to: 1) the monthly Processing Calendar email (includes myriad of information) and ME Close Schedule information, 2) the date the system is scheduled to run, 3) the date reports will run, 4) the date final batches will be loaded and suspense cleared, 5) the date and time the system date will be rolled to the last day of the month, 6) the date reports will be produced and saved to SharePoint, 7) the date the system will be rolled to that first day of the next month, and 8) other refund related notifications.

C.4.5.2 SUBTASK 5.2 - Period End Close Reports

The contractor shall run final reports and upload to SharePoint (unless otherwise directed) per the Period Close Financial Reporting Procedure (Chapter 27) Appendix A, List of Month-End Reports (see Section F.3, Deliverable 11).

a. The month end reports are due per the notification email (see Section C.4.5.1). This date is has occurred within three days after the ME process has commenced.

b. The Month End Close Schedule and PPS Processing Calendar should be published two to three weeks prior to the beginning of the PE close.

c. Period Close Financial Reporting Procedure (Chapter 27) Appendix A, List of Month-End Reports are subject to change by evolving business needs and report modifications.

C.4.5.3 SUBTASK 5.3 - Report Analysis

The contractor shall analyze final reports as directed in the Period Close Financial Reporting Procedure (Chapter 27).

a. Report analysis includes determining the nature of issues that arise, e.g., system/software errors, recommending resolutions and resolving the errors.

C.4.5.4 SUBTASK 5.4 - Bimonthly CMS Reports

The contractor shall generate and distribute bimonthly CMS reports as directed in Procedures Chapter 27, Section 27.5.5 (see Section F.3, Deliverable 10).

C.4.6 TASK 6 – ACCOUNTING & FINANCIAL REPORTING & AUDIT DELIVERABLES

C.4.6.1 SUBTASK 6.1 - Standard Report Preparation

The contractor shall prepare standard operational/financial reports on a recurring/scheduled basis.

a. All deliverables must comply with and adhere to PBGC policies and procedures as well as the department’s accounting policy and CCD procedures. A copy of the primary procedure, Ch 13.17, Period Close Financial Reporting Procedure, will be provided to the awardee upon request.

b. Some of the reports are created by PPS while others are generated by individuals with the appropriate security access to PPS using user defined parameters. Ad hoc reporting tools are also available for non-standard queries and reports.

c. Standard reports are prepared on a monthly, quarterly, year to date, and fiscal year basis.

d. Reports are to be reasonable and accurate.

e. Reports are to be delivered timely in accordance with the due date in the Financial Reporting Schedule (see Section F.3, Deliverable 11).

C.4.6.2 SUBTASK 6.2 – Ad Hoc Report Preparation

The contractor shall prepare ad hoc operational/financial reports on an as-needed basis.

a. Some ad hoc reports are created by PPS while others are generated by individuals with the required security access to PPS using user defined parameters. Ad hoc reporting tools are also available for non-standard queries and reports.

b. Reports are to be reasonable and accurate.

c. Reports are to be delivered in a timely manner.

C.4.6.3 SUBTASK 6.3 - AUDIT DELIVERABLES

The contractor shall assist PBGC management by responding to auditor questions and requests for information in support of the deliverables submitted.

a. CCD provides audit deliverables to the external auditors which historically occurs from May through October. Contractors may be responsible for providing documentation and/or artifacts to CCD which will then be forwarded to the external auditors.

b. Reports are used and reviewed by auditors, FOD management and staff, contractor staff, and other departments within PBGC.

c. Audit deliverables will be supported by work papers as back up documentation.

d. Audit deliverable due dates are sometimes negotiable. If, for some reason, the contractor is unable to meet the reporting due dates, the contractor must justify the extension request and the proposed delivery date.

C.4.6.4 SUBTASK 6.4 -- TREASURY REPORT ON RECEIVABLES

The contractor shall provide quarterly Treasury Report on Receivables (TROR) reports as required in Chapter 11 procedures, TROR Report (see Section F.3, Deliverable 20).

a. The U.S. Treasury’s Report on Receivables is a comprehensive report required to periodically collect data on the status and condition of Federal non‐tax debt. The report assists agencies in managing their compliance with the Debt Collection Improvement Act (DCIA), assists the Treasury and others in monitoring and reporting on their agency’s performance, and assists the Treasury in knowing the extent of the debt collection problem and what agencies need to do to fix their problems. Information included in the TROR includes the Status of Receivables/Receivables and Collections, In‐house Aging Delinquent Debt, Aging Delinquent Premium Debt, Delinquent Debt by Category, and Debt Eligible for Referral to the Treasury.

b. All deliverables must comply with and adhere to PBGC policies and procedures as well as the department’s accounting policy and CCD procedures. A copy of the primary procedure, Ch 11, TROR Report, will be provided to the awardee upon request.

c. Errors found during the validity testing could require contacting the Plan Administrator/Practitioner for information and/or documentation.

C.4.6.5 SUBTASK 6.5 - TERMINATION PREMIUM

C.4.6.5.1 The contractor shall assist CCD in determining termination premium (TP) collections on a quarterly basis (see Section F.3, Deliverable 22).

C.4.6.5.2 The contractor shall assist CCD with calculating the reserve for bad debt and allowance for uncollectible accounts for the termination premium (see Section F.3, Deliverable 23).

C.4.6.5.3 The contractor shall deliver to FOD / Investment Accounting Branch the CCD Termination Premiums spreadsheet monthly (see Section F.3, Deliverable 24).

a. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, as modified and made permanent by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), established the termination premium for plan sponsors when their plans are terminated under ERISA sections 4041(c)(2)(B)(ii), 4041(c)(2)(B)(iii), and 4042. Under the ERISA and PBGC's regulations, a premium ("termination premium") must be paid to PBGC annually for three years after plan termination for certain distress and involuntary pension plan terminations. CCD is currently tracking about 1,400 plans. Monthly, CCD receives a termination premium control sheet with new cases that have been added since the previous month along with a list of cases recommended for trusteeship.

b. All deliverables must comply with and adhere to PBGC policies and procedures as well as the department’s accounting policy and CCD procedures. A copy of the primary procedure, Ch 1.21, Termination Premium Procedures for CCD, GAB, and FRAAG TROR Report, will be provided to the awardee upon request.

C.4.6.6 SUBTASK 6.6 – BAD DEBT EXPENSE

The contractor shall prepare the schedule of bad debt expense to be included in the monthly schedule of manual activity and adjustments (see Section F.3, Deliverable 21).

C.4.6.7 SUBTASK 6.7 – TRUE TERMINATION PREMIUM RECEIVABLES

The contractor shall prepare the schedule of true termination premium receivables to be included in the SE and ME FRP&VRP Breakout Controller’s Comments Email (see Section F.3, Deliverable 25).

C.4.6.8 SUBTASK 6.8 – VRP CAP LOSS WORKBOOK

The contractor shall prepare the schedule of VRP Cap Loss to be included in the SE and ME FRP&VRP Breakout Controller’s Comments Email (see Section F.3, Deliverable 12).

C.4.6.9 SUBTASK 6.9 – SE AND ME CONTROLLER COMMENTS

The contractor shall draft commentary on Termination Premium Revenue FYTD current month as compared to Termination Premium Revenue FYTD prior month within the SE and ME FRP&VRP Breakout Controller’s Comments Email (see Section F.3, Deliverable 13).

C.4.6.10 SUBTASK 6.10 – PREMIUM FILING REVIEW RESEARCH

The contractor shall perform premium filing research for select plans as a component of the year-end Earned Income Accrual Adjustment process (see Section F.3, Deliverable 14).

a. The Earned Income Accrual Estimate is based upon the participant count and underfunding from the prior year’s premium filing, the current year premium rates, and the number of months into the plan year. The prior year’s filing represents the best plan data available to estimate the current year premium earned income. However, if there is a significant increase/decrease in participant count or underfunding, there is a risk that the Earned Income Accrual Estimate could be understate or overstated. To address this risk, PBGC performs an analysis of plan filings submitted after the end of the fiscal year to determine if the Earned Income Estimate for the fiscal year requires adjustment.

C.4.6.11 SUBTASK 6.11 – PREMIUM FLUX ANALYSIS

The contractor shall draft year over year flux analysis of premium income on a quarterly basis for CCD review and approval (see Section F.3, Deliverable 15).

C.4.6.12 SUBTASK 6.12 – PPS TO CFS REFUND RECONCILIATION DESCREPANCIES

The contractor shall deliver to CCD a monthly PPS to CFS refund reconciliation with descriptions of discrepancies, if applicable (see Section F.3, Deliverable 16).

C.4.6.13 SUBTASK 6.13 – PPS MONTH END REPORT ANALYSIS

The contractor shall prepare for CCD, on a monthly basis, the PPS to General Ledger (GL) Trial Balance reports (PPSGL007) (see Section F.3, Deliverable 17).

C.4.6.14 SUBTASK 6.14 – CASH RECONCILIATION REPORT AND SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA REPORT

The contractor shall deliver to CCD, monthly, premium receipts from the five sources of payments as well as select financial data (see Section F.3, Deliverable 18).

C.4.6.15 SUBTASK 6.15 – REPORT AND E-FILING STATUS

The contractor shall deliver to the FOD Director, on a monthly basis, an array of operational metrics and My PAA filing statistics (see Section F.3, Deliverable 19).

C.4.7 TASK 7 – VALIDITY TESTING

The contractor shall test sample Accounts Receivable (A/R) and Credit Balances (CB) to determine validity rates used to adjust premium account balances per the department accounting policy manual & CCD procedures.

a. Validity testing is a Key Control within the division, required to determine rates used for bad debt expense, which enter into monthly manual adjustments performed by CCD and impact revenue.

b. Sample testing is performed three times annually, based on certain dollar thresholds for both A/R balances and unallocated cash (credit balances).

c. Validity testing work papers back up the findings and include a summary for justification.

d. Practitioner contact may be necessary when the filing(s) have ambiguities.

e. All deliverables must comply with and adhere to PBGC policies and procedures as well as the department’s accounting policy and CCD procedures. Validity testing procedures are found in Ch 13.17, Period Close Financial Reporting Procedure, Section 13.17.9 and will be provided to the awardee upon request.

C. 4.7.1 SUBTASK 7.1— A/R VALIDITY

The contractor shall provide the Federal control owner A/R validity testing work papers that back up the findings and include a summary for justification (see Section F.3, Deliverable 11).

C. 4.7.2 SUBTASK 7.2— CB VALIDITY

The contractor shall provide the Federal control owner CB validity testing work papers that back up the findings and include a summary for justification (see Section F.3, Deliverable 11).

C.4.8 TASK 8 – CORRESPONDENCE

C.4.8.1 SUBTASK 8.1-- INCOMING CORRESPONDENCE & RETURNED MAIL

The contractor shall take appropriate actions for incoming correspondence and returned mail.

a. Most incoming correspondence is received through electronic means, but some correspondence is physically mailed to the PBGC headquarters. Undeliverable mail is returned to the headquarters location.

b. Incoming correspondence (electronic) is automatically loaded into Image Viewer (IPS).

c. All deliverables must comply with and adhere to PBGC policies and procedures as well as the department’s accounting policy and CCD procedures. A copy of the primary procedure, Ch 14, Re-Indexing Correspondence, will be provided to the awardee upon request.

C.4.8.1.1 The contractor shall re-index documents, when appropriate, based on mapped actionable categories (e.g., refunds).

C.4.8.1.2 The contractor shall track the number of items in each category monthly and communicate to CCD.

C.4.8.1.3 The contractor shall, at the direction of CCD, update plan header addresses in PPS when applicable, based on USPS notes, for envelopes returned directly to PBGC headquarters.

C.4.8.1.4 The contractor shall handle misdirected live checks and correspondence that are mistakenly sent to PBGC headquarters.

C.4.8.2 SUBTASK 8.2 – LETTER GENERATION

The contractor shall monitor the system to ensure letters are mailed timely and accurately to plan practitioners in accordance with CCD procedures.

a. PPS has three types of outgoing letter categories: Statement of Account (SOA)/CPF, Past Due Filing Notice (PDFN) and normal letters which are involved in different areas of the operational premium filing process (See Table 1 in Section C.4.4.1).

i. SOA/CPF letters are automatically staged based on predetermined logic that occurs during the SOA/CPF staging job. This includes SOA letters (late premium payments) and numerous other confirmation letters triggered based on filing receipt.

ii. PDFN letters levels 1 to 4 are automatically staged based on predetermined logic that occurs during the PDFN staging job. The fifth level PDFNs (PDFN 05s) are manually approved. The PDFN letter category includes PDFNs (late premium filing) and numerous other letters associated with filing compliance.

iii. Normal letters are automatically triggered via the filing validation process in cash receipts, or manually triggered based on user service request input. This includes Notice of Filing Errors (NFEs), and all other service request-based determination or notice letters (e.g., refunds).

b. The SOA/CPF and PDFN staging jobs are configured to automatically run once daily (staging the specified notice types). Once the letter records are created and staged in the database, the automated version of all three groups of letter generation (SOA/PDFN/Normal) is also configured to pick up once daily. The actual Letter Generation job picks up the staged letters and transfers them to the Customer Communication System (CCS) application, which captures specific letter data, provides a callback status to PPS and finally packages the letter requests for mailing via fulfillment center.

C.4.8.2.1 The contractor shall track the overall processing and mailing of all generated within PPS to the dissemination by the fulfillment center, currently the Government Publishing Office (GPO) (see Section F.3, Deliverable 26).

C.4.8.2.2 The contractor shall open service tickets for any failed print jobs and/or images that failed to upload to IPS.

C4.8.2.3 The contractor shall follow up on open service tickets to adequately resolve the issue.

C.4.8.2.4 The contractor shall respond to customer inquiries and questions in response to outgoing mailed PBGC correspondence as described in C.4.4.4.

C.4.8.2.5 The contractor shall regularly review and update Stop Customer Communication SRs.

a. Stop Customer Communication SRs prevent the generation and mailing of any/all letters to a plan.

b. Stop Customer Communication SRs can only be opened as directed by CCD staff.

C.4.9 TASK 9 – SERVICE REQUEST ACTIVITY

C.4.9.1 SUBTASK 9.1 – SERVICE REQUEST TRANSACTIONS

The contractor shall perform various service request functions in PPS for necessary premium operations.

a. Service Requests (SRs) provide comprehensive details of the current status of an action by allowing PPS users the ability to upload and save attachments viewable by all users, link images from IPS to the SR, document transaction status using mandatory status transitions and notes, record a Problem Code and Resolution Code to the SR, view transaction details from the SR Zoom form, view plan contact details, and create links to related SRs.

b. SRs allow CCD to track and manage workload and interactions with customers for a myriad of premium-related tasks. Many SRs require a specific time frame for completion. Completion includes, but is not limited to, analysis and validation of account balances, communicating with the plan (including documenting the communication); compiling the supporting documentation to justify the approval or denial of the action; attaching the documentation to the SR; and, if necessary, processing corrections to the account balances or plan information.

C.4.9.1.2 The contractor shall consistently ensure all SRs are regularly and accurately documented to reflect a summary of all activity during the review process.

C.4.9.1.3 The contractor shall assign SRs to CCD staff for final processing on SRs that require approval based on an approval hierarchy in a pre-defined workflow.

C.4.9.1.4 The contractor shall report on aged SRs quarterly and provide justification for all SRs aged over 30 days (see Section F.3, Deliverable 27).

a. The SR Aged Summary Report should include an explanation and justification for the action being taken on each SR. If at any point the SR is rejected or denied, CCD expects that the appropriate actions are undertaken to ensure the SR is closed timely.

C.4.9.2 SUBTASK 9.2 – CORRECTING POSTED PLAN DATA

The contractor shall process service request actions to correct premium filing and payment errors when identified.

a. Premium filing and payment errors are discovered by a variety of events both automatically and manually. For example:

· review of system-generated reports.

· analysis and validation of plan year balances,

· the suspense process,

· issues/complaints identified from Plan Administrators or other Practitioners,

· responses to outgoing PBGC generated correspondence,

· follow-up corrections to the account as requested by CCD staff.

b. The correction…