4-26-004 OPEB Actuarial Services.pdf

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Jackson County, Missouri is seeking Proposals from qualified professional actuary firms to provide services to value Other Post-Employee Benefits (OPEB) in compliance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 75 (GASB 75) for inclusion in the County CAFR for the fiscal year ending:

1.1.1 December 31, 2025 (a January 1. 2026 valuation date);

1.1.2 December 31, 2026 (a January 1, 2027, valuation date);

1.1.3 December 21, 2027 (a January 1, 2028, valuation date).

1.2 This is Jackson County, Missouri Request for Proposal No. 26-004 Response Deadline is 2:00 PM, CDT on March 3, 2026.

1.3 TERM: This will be a Twelve-Month Agreement with the option to extend for two additional Twelve-Month Terms.

1.4 Submission of Proposals: Proposals must be submitted on-line through the Bonfire Portal at https://jacksongov.bonefirehub.com . Proposals submitted by any other method will not be accepted.

2.0 QUESTION PROCEDURE

2.1 All questions regarding this Request for Proposal shall be communicated electronically through the Bonfire Portal via the Opportunity Q & A on the Request for Proposal.

2.2 All questions must be received through the Bonfire Portal by 5:00 PM, CDT on February 24, 2026.

2.3 All questions will be answered in the form of Addenda to the Request for Proposal on the Bonfire Portal.

2.4 Respondents and their agents (including subcontractors, associates, consultants or their agents MAY NOT contact any other County employee/staff or elected official regarding the matters covered by this Request for Proposal during the solicitation and evaluation of proposals. Inappropriate contacts are grounds for REJECTION of your Proposal.

3.0 BACKGROUND

3.1 Jackson County obtained actuarial services for the year ended December 31, 2024. See Attachment A included with this Request for Proposal for the actuarial valuation report. On December 31, 2024, the actuarial present value of benefits was $6,378,850 and the actuarial accrued liability was $3,785,947, using a discount rate of 3.88% (beginning-of-year measurement) and 4.22% (end-of-year measurement).

https://jacksongov.bonefirehub.com/

3.2 Jackson County contracts with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City to provide health plans to active employees and retirees. Under this contract, the County offers five health plans, and three tiers of service (employee only, employee + 1 and family). As of December 31, 2025, participation was as follows:

Plan Description Active Retirees Total EPO (Blue Select Plus) 370 4 374 HDHP PPO HSA (Preferred Care Blue) 226 0 226 HDHP Spira HSA (Blue Select Plus) 205 1 206 HMO (Blue Care) 170 0 170 PPO (Preferred Care Blue) 304 0 304 Waived 276 3 279 Grand Total 1,551 8 1,559

3.3 Retirees can remain on the County’s insurance plan after their retirement;

however, they pay the full cost of the premium. Retirees have the same premium rates as active employees. Because the insurance premium rates that are charged to retirees are, presumably, lower and the rates paid for the County active employees are, presumably, higher than the rates would be if the retirees were rated separately, an implicit rate subsidy exists.

4.0 AWARD REQUIREMENTS

4.1 Certificate of Insurance: The Successful Respondent will be required to submit to the Purchasing Department a Certificate of Insurance meeting or exceeding the provisions of Exhibit A included herein ten (10) business days after receiving award notification. The Certificate of Insurance must be received by the Purchasing Department prior to the commencement of any work under this Request for Proposal.

4.2 W-9 Form: The Successful Respondent must provide a completed IRS W-9 Form.

5.0 SCOPE OF SERVICES

5.1 Jackson County is seeking proposals from qualified firms to provide actuarial services for valuation of OPEB offered by the County. The primary objectives for this actuarial valuation include:

5.1.1 Ensure compliance with GASB Statement 75 and any other present GASB statements related to OPEB.

5.1.2 Determine OPEB related valuation for December 31, 2025, 2026 and

2027 financial statement presentations.

5.1.3 Prepare necessary information for inclusion in the County’s audited financial statements for the fiscal years ending December 31, 2025, 2026 and 2027. This includes providing all required information for the notes to the financial statements for inclusion into the County’s financial statements that conform to all the requirements of GASB Statement 75, and all the required supplementary information.

5.1.4 Assistance in implementing any new GASB statements and other financial pronouncements related to OPEB and providing ongoing professional consultation that is mutually agreed upon.

5.2 Valuations must be performed in accordance with generally accepted actuarial standards of practice promulgated by the Actuarial Standards Board and based, as applicable, on actuarial assumptions and methods approved by the Jackson County, Missouri Revised Pension Plan Board of Trustees.

6.0 TENTATIVE TIMELINE

6.1 Request for Proposal Issued February 17, 2026,

6.2 Deadline for Questions February 24, 2026,

6.3 Response Deadline for Proposals March 3, 2026,

6.4 Estimated Contract Award Date March 27, 2026

6.5 Actuarial Report Due to the County April 24, 2026

7.0 ATTACHMENTS

7.1 Attachment A – Postretirement Health Insurance Financial Information for Jackson County, Missouri.

7.2 Attachment B – Purchasing Forms to be downloaded, filled out and submitted with your proposal.

7.2.1 Affidavit

7.2.2 Acknowledgement of Addenda

7.2.3 Exceptions

7.2.4 Certificate of Compliance

7.3 Attachment C – General Purchasing Information to be downloaded and read prior to submitting your Proposal:

7.3.1 General Terms and Conditions

7.3.2 Insurance Requirements

8.0 PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

8.1 To facilitate the evaluation of proposals, proposals and copies shall be organized in the following manner:

8.1.1 Cover Letter, to include the following information:

8.1.1.1 Respondent’s Name, Address, Phone Number and Email Address

8.1.1.2 Contact Person’s Name, Title, Phone Number and Email Address

8.1.2 Respondent Description (maximum 2 pages) describing your organization and size locally, regionally, nationally and internationally in relation to providing actuarial services. Include the location of the office from which this contract will be serviced and the range of activities performed at that office.

8.1.3 Respondent Experience (maximum 2 pages) describing Respondent’s experience as an actuary; please include any current or past experience with local governments in the valuation of pensions or OPEB.

8.1.4 Respondent’s staff qualifications: provide resumes describing the education and work experience for each of the key staff that will be assigned to this contract. Identify the staff person that will serve as the manager and primary contact for the County. Key factors considered are education, positions in the firm and years of experience. Respondent must obtain the County’s written permission for any changes in staff after submission of this proposal, evaluations and award.

8.1.5 Sample Report: Respondent shall provide an actuarial report example which includes the GASB 75 requirements.

8.1.6 Project Approach: Respondent shall provide a project plan for the actuarial services to be performed under this RFP. Project plan shall include at a minimum, the following:

8.1.6.1 Approach and methodology for the valuation.

8.1.6.2 Approach and methodology to include compliance with GASB standards.

8.1.6.3 Data requirements for the County.

8.1.6.4 Identification of project plan milestones.

8.1.6.5 Schedule for project completion and issuance of report.

8.1.6.6 Valuation report elements to include:

8.1.6.6.1 Actuarial present value of total projected benefits

8.1.6.6.2 Actuarial accrued liability

8.1.6.6.3 OPEB assets

8.1.6.6.4 Unfunded actuarial accrued liability

8.1.6.6.5 Normal cost

8.1.6.6.6 Annual required contribution as a dollar amount and as a % of payroll

8.1.6.6.7 Annual OPEB cost

8.1.6.6.8 Net OPEB obligation

8.1.6.6.9 Summary of data used for the valuation

8.1.6.6.10 Summary of actuarial methods and assumptions

8.1.6.6.11 GASB compliant financial notes to be included in the

County’s ACFR

8.1.7 References: Respondents must include a list of three references, including points of contact with similar governments, which can be used as a reference for work performed in the area of services required (Actuarial Valuation Services). References will be contacted to verify quality of work performed and staff assigned to project.

8.1.8 Pricing – provide separate pricing on Respondent’s letterhead or forms and uploaded with your Proposal. Pricing shall be all-inclusive maximum price proposal to contain all direct and indirect costs to perform the Actuarial Valuation Services. Pricing shall remain fixed and valid for the entire length of the contract.

8.2 Failure to include any of the items listed in Section 8.1.6. may result in the REJECTION of your proposal.

8.3 Expenses and costs incurred in the preparation of proposals in response to this Request for Proposal are the sole responsibility of the Respondent and shall not be reimbursed by Jackson County, Missouri.

8.4 Submitted proposals become the property of Jackson County, Missouri and will not be returned.

9.0 REQUESTED INFORMATION

9.1 Affidavit.

9.2 Addenda.

9.3 Certificate of Compliance

9.4 Exhibit – F Bidders Exceptions

9.5 Two Dedicated

9.6 Greater KC Metro Area Information

9.7 Proposal Requirements (See Section 8.0)

10.0 EVALUATION AND AWARD CRITERIA

10.1 An Evaluation Committee made up of Jackson County, Missouri staff will evaluate all proposals and make recommendations.

10.2 Jackson County, Missouri shall be the sole judge of the proposals submitted, and its decision shall be final

10.3 The Evaluation Committee will consider various factors when evaluating the responses to this Request for Proposal, including, but not limited to:

10.3.1 Responsiveness to Request for Proposal 5 points

10.3.2 Respondent’s Experience 20 points

10.3.3 Respondent’s Staff 15 points

10.3.4 Respondent’s References 5 points

10.3.5 Respondent’s Project Approach 20 Points

10.3.6 Pricing 30 points

11.0 CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS

11.1 Upon the selection of the successful Proposal, a Contract incorporating the General Conditions, Scope of Services and other provisions of this Request for Proposal and acceptable to both parties will be prepared and executed by both parties. Should the parties, within a reasonable amount of time, as determined by Jackson County, fail to develop and execute a mutually agreeable Contract, and upon a three-business day notification to the selected Respondent, the County may reject the proposal and proceed to award the Contract to the next “best” respondent.

11.2 Pursuant to Section 610.021 RSMo, proposals and related documents shall not be available for public review until a Contract has been awarded or all proposals have been rejected.

11.3 In no event will the following be considered confidential or exempt from the Missouri Sunshine Law:

11.3.1 Respondent’s entire proposal

11.3.2 Respondent’s pricing

11.3.3 Respondent’s proposed method of performance, including a schedule of events and/or deliverables

11.3.4 Respondent’s experience information including customer lists or references

11.3.5 Respondent’s product specifications unless specifications disclose scientific and technological innovations in which the owner has a proprietary interest.

11.4 The County generally does not use standard contract forms which may be provided by the Respondent. The Contract used by the County will include both the Request for Proposal, the Respondent’s proposal, and the provisions of the Request for Proposal shall govern. The Respondent shall list any and all exceptions as instructed under General Conditions, Item Number Four of this Request for Proposal. Please note that Respondent’s proposal is subject to Rejection if Exceptions to the County’s General Conditions, Scope of Service and/or forms are requested.

11.5 Respondents must agree to the following standard provisions:

11.5.1 Indemnifications: Respondent agrees, to the fullest extent permitted by law to indemnify and hold the County harmless from damages and losses arising from the negligent acts, errors or omissions of the Respondent in the performance of the work under this Contract, to the extent that Respondent is responsible for such damages and losses on a comparative basis of fault and responsibility between Respondent and the County. The Respondent is not obligated to indemnify the County for the County’s own negligence.

11.5.2 Independent Successful Respondent: Successful Respondent shall work as an independent successful respondent and not as an employee of the County. Successful Respondent shall be subject to the direction of the County only as a result to be accomplished and not as to the means and methods. Successful Respondent is responsible for its own Federal, State and City withholding taxes and shall operate its business independent of the business of the County except as required by the Contract.

11.5.3 Confidentiality: Respondent acknowledges and agrees all County information and records are confidential and will not disclose or make available this information or records to anyone outside the County organization unless authorized to do so in writing.

11.5.4 Complete Agreement: Parties agree that this Contract together with Jackson County, Missouri Request for Proposal No. 26-004 and the Respondent’s response thereto constitute the complete and exclusive agreement between the parties which supersedes all prior understandings or agreements, oral or written, and all other communications between parties relating to the subject matter of this Contract.

11.5.5 Notices: Any notices which either party shall be required by this Contract to give the other shall be in writing and delivered by mail addressed to the respective parties as follows, or to such other addresses, as the respective parties may designate from time to time.