Field Support Activity (FSA) Transportation Incentive Program (TIP) Fringe Benefit Distribution Services PWS.pdf

Performance Work Statement

Field Support Activity (FSA)

Transportation Incentive Program (TIP)

Benefit Distribution Services

1. Introduction

The Field Support Activity (FSA) is designated as the Office of Primary Responsibility (OPR) for the

Department of the Navy (DON) Mass Transit Benefit Program outside the National Capital Region

(ONCR); or the Transportation Incentive Program (TIP) as titled internally by DON. Contractor benefit distribution services are required to support FSA’s TIP requirement.

Based on eligibility requirements, TIP provides fringe benefits to military and civilian employees to offset mass transit commuting costs to reduce their daily contribution to traffic congestion and air pollution, as well as expand their commuting alternatives. TIP is designed to pay for mass transit costs incurred by personnel in their local commute between their residence and duty station as prescribed by

Executive Order 13150. Currently, FSA provides oversight for benefit disbursements to over 8,000

DON employees.

2. Background

On April 21, 2000, President Clinton signed Executive Order (E.O.) 13150 titled "Federal Workforce

Transportation." Section 2 of the E.O. required that Federal agencies in the National Capital Region

(NCR) establish a transit pass fringe benefit program for personnel using mass transportation or qualified vanpools by October 1, 2000, and in 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) codified this into law. Additionally, the

Federal Employees Clean Air Incentives Act, 5 U.S.C. § 7905, P.L. 103-172 (Dec. 2, 1993) (Clean Air

Incentives Act) was enacted as part of a national effort to improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion. The Clean Air Incentives Act provides for the establishment of programs to encourage

Federal employees to commute by means other than single- occupancy motor vehicles.

As the OPR, FSA is responsible for entering into an agreement on behalf of the DON with a benefit provider to distribute transit benefits to eligible employees whose duty station is located ONCR. Transit benefits are required to be adequately funded via the appropriation/fund that finances the individual program participant’s salary and pay; accordingly, TIP is funded via multiple funding sources, but FSA is responsible for all administrative costs associated with the services provided by the benefit provider.

The FSA TIP, Benefit Distribution Service Provider contractor will provide benefit disbursement services for eligible TIP Participants and program support to the FSA TIP Program Office.

3. Objectives/Scope

The objective of this contract is to provide benefit disbursement services and program support to the

FSA TIP Program Office in compliance with relevant TIP Policies. To adequately support DON ONCR

TIP, contract support services are required to provide distribution services including (but not limited to):

multiple disbursement methods (i.e. credit or debit cards, vouchers, etc.); 24 hour access to real-time disbursement data for TIP Program Office, local support offices, and participants; program and financial audit support; dedicated customer service support staff, integration of DON ONCR TIP application system (with tech support); comprehensive financial and program reporting provided in timely manner;

and cost effective administrative fees.

4. Tasks

I. Enrollment Processing: Enrollment processing shall cover new enrollees, changes to existing applications, program withdrawals, and re-certifications.

i. The contractor shall process all enrollment applications for the program once those program participants are approved by the Government and the contractor shall review applications for the required information to satisfy the Federal Transit

Benefit program requirements, determine the distribution method, and ensure accurate billing.

ii. Applications shall be submitted via the contractor’s online web application or secure electronic file transfer to ensure accuracy, validity, and increase internal controls.

II. Benefit Delivery Methods: Unless prohibited, the method of the transit benefit delivery will be monthly and by electronic distribution. The contractor shall determine the best delivery method for the transit benefit in accordance with federal regulation and applicable internal controls. The contractor shall maintain a list of those transit providers where a paper benefit distribution is required.

i. The contractor may distribute paper fare media in other than monthly installments.

ii. When a participant requires more than one method of distribution, the contractor may limit the use of each method for operational efficiency. For example: A participant in the D.C. area commutes using both MARC and the WMATA Metro. The maximum transit benefit is $315.00 and the participant’s MARC ticket is $350.00. The contractor shall elect to provide the maximum $315.00 on the contractor Card so that the participant can purchase a MARC ticket (after adding his/her personnel funds).

The contractor shall not accept requests to split the amount between MARC and

WMATA in this example. Split requests will be accepted if the MARC ticket is

$200.00. The remaining $115 benefit shall be provided through the WMATA

SmartBenefits® program.

III. Electronic System: The contractor shall maintain an electronic information technology system to manage the Transit Benefit Program. This system facilitates the distribution of public transportation fare media to the Department of the Navy (DON) and other Federal Agency participants for enrollment, to maintain an inventory of fare media, and to manage agency billing information. The contractor shall maintain a history of records at the participant level in support of audit requirements. The contract will involve the use and release of data subject to the requirements of the Privacy Act: Financial Information Systems (System Number 30-64-

0012). Data released or exchanged pursuant to this contract falls under the Privacy Act of

1974, as amended 5 U.S.C. § 552a and especially §552a(b)(3) routine use exemption; the

Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. §552; and Section 1106(A) of the Social Security Act. If the Government uses full or partial Social Security Numbers to identify their employees in the contractor program, the contractor program shall work with the Government and provide a more secure identifier to assign to employees in the transit benefit program. This effort aligns with OMB Circular A-130 revised, 5(f)(1)(f), which “requires federal agencies to take steps to eliminate unnecessary collection, maintenance, and use of Social Security numbers, and explore alternatives to the use of Social Security numbers as a personal identifier.” This ensures compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, Section 7(a)(1) and reduces the likelihood of a breach between federal agencies in accordance with OMB 17-12, Preparing for and Responding to a Breach of Personally Identifiable Information. The contractor maintains regulatory action to ensure that the System of Record Notification (SORN) issued covers the

Agency’s records within the contractor system for as long as the contractor is their service provider.

An extensive Certification and Accreditation (C&A) process ensures data integrity.

The certification ensures compliance with DONCIO policies, including the handling of

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) information by DON contractor support personnel.

IV. Customer Service: The contractor’s Transit Benefit Customer Service Liaisons shall serve as the primary points of contact for the Agency’s transit benefit program, finance, and procurement coordinators. The contractor’s Transit Benefit Customer Service Liaisons shall be available to assist with all aspects of the transit benefit program to include: implementing changes, address and rectify internal control issues, inputting data into source systems, and being the primary

POC to address and resolve blocked merchant inquiries.

V. Billing & Reporting: The contractor shall maintain billing records and information in accordance with NARA guidelines and requirements to enable the Government to comply with audit requirements. This includes maintaining the system of record for the Government. In addition, monthly billing packages are to be provided to designated Agency officials.

VI. Internal Controls: The contractor shall have numerous internal controls in place to monitor program compliance and protect against fraud, waste, and abuse. The contractor shall establish an Internal Controls Officer to monitor and examine current internal controls, identify potential program vulnerabilities, maintain and test internal controls, and design training classes

i. Fraud, Waste, and Abuse of Fare Media- The contractor shall analyze the data provided in the enrollment process against participant’s usage and alert the Agency of any suspected misuse by way of an anomaly letter from the Internal Controls Officer.

This letter requires a return receipt by the Agency.

VII. Full Cost Recovery: By law all contractor agreements shall correspond with the Federal Fiscal

Year (i.e., after each Fiscal Year has closed, etc.) end. DON FSA and contractor (Benefit

Service Provider) Finance will determine the final financial break-even point for the contractor program. A determination will be made whether to refund or collect additional funds from the customer agency to balance out the annual program. The contactor as well as DON FSA shall monitor the financial status of the program throughout the year to bring the final balance as close to zero as possible. This may result in rate adjustments during the year. The contractor shall work with each agency customer to keep program costs as low as possible while still providing the requested services.

Paper Fare Media Credit Policy: In order to maintain accurate information for participant usage, accumulated excess paper vouchers will not be accepted. All paper fare media returns for credit are subject to the following: All paper fare media must be received by the contractor no later than 30 days after distribution to the agency. Media that is not credited by the contractor will be returned to the agency and billed accordingly. Upon receipt of any paper fare media return, corresponding fare media credits are applied to the Agency’s bill within 60-90 days.

5. Responsibilities

The Government shall enter into a contract with the Benefit Distribution Service Provider contractor for administrative and distribution services for the Federal Transit Subsidy Program, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. In so doing, the Government shall provide key management responsibilities for its participation in the Program as described below:

I. The Government shall submit all enrollment applications electronically (via the contractor’s

Web application or secure file transfer) for transit benefits to be available to those verified applicants that are submitted by due dates in Schedule A of this PWS. If the agency does not follow either of these enrollment methods, then please contact the contractor to transition the

Agency to a more secure enrollment process.

II. The Government shall identify a Program Coordinator to be the Government’s primary point of contact (POC) to work with the contractor. The Government’s POC will be responsible for communication with the Government’s management and individual program participants as required. The Government’s POC shall also coordinate needed communications with the contractor. The Government’s Program Officials, who supervise Agency Program

Coordinators, authorize the Agency Program Coordinator in writing to take program actions with the contractor. Changes to the authorizing Agency Program Coordinators must be submitted in writing, by the Agency Program Official, to the contractor.

III. The Government will verify Federal employees meet the requirements for participation in the

Program as outlined in E.O. 13150 “Federal Workforce Transportation,” April 21, 2000, and related statutory, regulatory, and administrative standards. The Government will determine that employees are not receiving parking benefits and are using mass transit for the majority of their commutes to work.

i. The Government is required to ensure employees are fully aware of what they need to know to participate in the program and understand the following:

1. The Transit Benefit Program limitations

2. The prohibitions against transferring or selling their fare media to anyone else;

3. The potential penalties for misusing or making a false claim in obtaining transit benefits;

4. Participants named on a worksite parking permit at any federal agency must be named in accordance with the Agency’s policies.

5. Employees are authorized to use the transit benefit only for their regular home to work transportation;

6. The amount of transit benefits received does not exceed employees’ actual monthly commuting cost by public transportation;

7. It is illegal to provide false or fraudulent information to obtain transit benefits, to transfer or to sell the transit benefit;

8. Employees’ personal responsibility for adjusting the transit benefit amount if an individual changes commuting methods, work schedules, begins telecommuting, or goes on extended leave.

IV. The Government will provide Program oversight including identification of any participants making false claims, selling, illegally transferring, or otherwise violating benefit requirements.

V. The Government is responsible for taking appropriate action for participants found to be violating program requirements.

VI. The Government is responsible for individuals’ recertification on a monthly basis, as well as recertification when rates are adjusted by Congressional Authority. Participants must recertify when Transit Authorities change their fares.

VII. The Government will provide information in Schedule B of this PWS and communicate changes to the contractor on a timely basis.

6. Contractor Responsibilities

I. The Contractor shall provide full Program administration, distribution services, best practices, and materials such as billing records, reports, invoices, resource tools, website information, and expertise to the Government.

II. The Contractor shall provide Customer Service representatives to respond to incoming calls and emails for timely resolution. Inquiries received during business hours will be responded to within

48 business hours.

III. The contractor shall establish the most appropriate type of fare media to distribute to the

Government’s participants. The policy is to provide electronic benefits where they are accepted.

The contractor shall enter into contracts to obtain specific types and volumes of fare media (paper and electronic) in preparation for distribution to the Government’s verified employees. The contractor shall order, purchase, verify, maintain, and safeguard fare media. The contractor shall bear full responsibility for any fare media that is in its possession prior to disbursement to the

Government participants. The contractor shall distribute fare media to the Government’s list of verified transit benefit participants on a monthly or quarterly basis.

IV. The Contractor shall complete orders for products and debit cards will be mailed via UPS or

FedEx, no later than five (5) days before the first day of the applicable Benefit Period.

V. Electronic Fare Media distribution:

i. The contractor (Debit/Credit) Card will be the most widely used type of fare media to service the Government’s verified participants. The contractor Card shall be a personalized branded card that makes the amount certified available to each participant monthly on the 10th of the month.

ii. The contractor shall mail these Cards to the Agency’s Reviewing Officials (ROs). If mailed to the Agency, the Agency is responsible for distributing the Cards to its participants.

iii. All Cards not required by the participant are the Agency’s responsibility to dispose of.

These include, but not limited to those that are expired or cards of withdrawn participants.

VI. Program Controls: The contractor shall annually test the controls over the activities it performs for the Government in accordance with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular

A-123, Management’s Responsibility for Internal Control guidance consisting of:

i. Monitoring and examining current internal controls and Standard Operating

Procedures;

ii. Identifying potential program risks;

iii. Developing solutions for identified risks;

iv. Developing and maintaining a staff with knowledge of existing rules and regulations concerning the federal transit benefit program as well as internal control guidance;

v. Keeping abreast of new developments for best practices in internal controls;

vi. Offering training packages to the Government, as a partnering federal agency, as a resource tool;

vii. Developing and providing reports to the Government to highlight variances and possible abuses;

viii. Reviewing Agency’s enrollments and participant expenditures for consistency with the federal transit benefit regulations;

ix. Working with Agency in support of any audit requirements;

x. The contractor shall provide the Government with a monthly billing report, monthly customer activity report, and various other reports on Program employee participation.

These reports shall include a description of specific services provided that month. The monthly reports shall be provided to the Government’s Program Coordinator for review and approval by the Government. The contractor shall provide additional monthly ad hoc reports as requested to aid in administrating the Program.

xi. The contractor shall ensure that adequate funding for the Agency’s level of participation is available before providing services. If funding is not made available by the deadlines outlined in Schedule A of this PWS, services may be suspended. Re-instatement of suspended services will be in-line with the deadlines by type of fare media. The contractor shall work diligently with the agency POC to restore services.

xii. The contractor shall maintain billing records and information in accordance with NARA guidelines and requirements to enable the Government to comply with audit requirements. In addition, the contractor shall provide timely, required technical consulting expertise to address audit issues that may occur.

xiii. The contractor shall maintain an accurate database that identifies all participants in the Program that the Government deems eligible, the original effective date of program participation, value of fare media provided, and the effective date of termination, as appropriate.

xiv. The contractor shall provide customer service support to all the

Government Program coordinators to ensure participant enrollment is updated and accurate. The contractor provides monthly billing reports to the Government that identify their active program participants and usage.

xv. The contractor shall meet with the Government management to explain the conveniences, program savings, and the Government internal controls intrinsic with strong program controls.

xvi. The contractor shall provide the information regarding application deadlines and distribution dates in a timely manner.

7. Reporting / Funding Information

I. The contractor has a bona fide need to purchase goods (fare media) in order to provide the transit benefit to agencies government-wide on a continuous basis. Because such goods (transit benefit delivery) must be ordered ahead of time, the order for participants to purchase their transit/commute in November 2024, benefits will need to be readily available on October 10, 2024, by 12:01a.m.

II. Actual monthly expenses shall be billed via invoice, and the Government shall be provided a monthly billing report detailing all amounts billed to the invoices.

III. Agreement amounts are estimated as follows:

a. Fare media-- estimates are based on the number of active participants and their requested dollar amount using the most current enrollment information at the time of the contract or modification to the contract. The estimation is adjusted based on the agency’s utilization rate and contract (or modification) Period of Performance:

i. Annual at 100% utilization

ii. Six-month at 100% utilization

iii. Less than 6 months --100% alpha (full active participant’s certified amount) for the first two quarters, utilization for the last two quarters

b. Participant fare media estimates are based on monthly utilization rate. The utilization rate is derived from monthly participant participation in DON TIP.

c. The management fee is applied to the active alpha list. Applied to the most current enrollment information at the time of the contract. This fee covers:

i. Program administrative costs (including shipping expenses)

ii. Service contract costs

iii. Information Technology requirements

IV. Schedule A:

Program Deadlines for Customer Information and Program Operations

DON TIPS Participants: Monthly Application Enrollments, Recertifications, Changes, Withdraws, and/or Re-activations must be processed by the 25th of each calendar month to be effective by the 10th of the following calendar month prior to the benefit load.

Enrollment Schedule Agency Information Due Distribution Date

Contractor Card Participants

Initial Funding Load

26th of each month or following business day

Effective on the 10th of the following month

Enrollments 26th of each month or following business day

Effective on the 10th of the following month

Recertification 26th of each month or following business day

Effective on the 10th of the following month

Changes 26th of each month or following business day

Effective on the 10th of the following month

Withdrawal 26th of each month or following business day

Effective on the 10th of the following month

Reactivation 26th of each month or following business day

Effective on the 10th of the following month

Benefits Swiped for non-use 10th of each month

WMATA / Smart Benefits

Participants

Initial Funding Load

26th of each month or following business day

Effective on the 1st of the following month

Enrollments 26th of each month or following business day

Effective on the 1st of the following month

Changes 26th of each month or following business day

Effective on the 1st of the following month

Withdraws 26th of each month or following business day

Effective on the 1st of the following month

Card Reassignments 1st – last day of each month

3-5 business days following submission request

WMATA SmartBenefits Anytime

(only after authorized by TIP Office personnel)

1st – last day of each month 3-5 business days following submission request

WMATA LOCKOUT 21st-last day of each month

Paper Vouchers

Quarterly Scheduled Distributions

November-January (Sent in

October)

February-April (Sent in

January)

May-July (Sent in April)

August-October (Sent in July)

New Enrollments 26th of each month or following business day

Mailing received at least 7 business days prior to effective month

Changes 26th of each month or following business day

Mailing received at least 7 business days prior to effective month

Withdrawal 26th of each month or following business day

V. Schedule B –ALL FIELDS ARE REQUIRED

Agency Provided Information:

Current method

(check one)

Contractor Web Application

Electronic file submission in accepted format X

Excel spreadsheets: X

Paper applications NO

PDF applications NO

Other NO

Recertification Period (check one) Start / End Date(s)

Yearly

Quarterly

Monthly (Internal) X 1st through 15th

Distribution Services (non-mailing)

NO

Contractor Card Replacements YES

Mailing Services (non-debit) Yes/No

Quarterly Paper Fare Media

Mailings YES Monthly/Quarterly

Retroactive Benefit Given Due to Statutory Limit Change

YES As soon as administratively feasible

Financial Documents

Period of Performance (check one)

- 3 Months X

- 6 Months

- 12 Months

8. Other Pertinent Information

I. Period of Performance—The period of performance for this requirement shall be for 5 years. The contract duration will be a base and 4 option years. The Period of Performance reads as follows:

Base Period: 01 October 2024 - 30 September 2025

Option One: 01 October 2025 - 30 September 2026

Option Two: 01 October 2026 - 30 September 2027

Option Three: 01 October 2027 - 30 September 2028

Option Four: 01 October 2028 - 30 September 2029

II. Place of Performance—

The work to be performed under this contract will be performed at the Contractor Service Provider’s worksite.

III. Security Requirements—

The highest level of security required for this requirement is Confidential. See the attached DD254 for details.

IV. Travel—

No travel requirements expected.

V. Other Direct Costs (ODCs)—

No other direct costs expected.

9. List of Deliverables

All deliverables shall be submitted under official company letterhead signed by the designated company representative. The cover letter shall be addressed to the Contracting Officer’s Representative unless otherwise directed. The cover letter shall include as a minimum, the title of the applicable deliverable, date performed, and the appropriate contract number and/or task order number to which the deliverable applies.

Monthly Status Reports. The contractor shall provide monthly status reports to include accomplishments, support provided, and identification of significant problems encountered or delays in meeting deliverable schedules. The contractor shall provide monthly reports on the implementation status of the individual tasks listed herein. It is important that they are submitted in a timely manner once a month and address the main task areas listed within this PWS. Reports shall include accomplishments, support provided, and identification of significant problems encountered or delays in meeting deliverable schedules.

10. Performance Standards

Performance

Element

Performance

Requirement

Surveillance

Method

Frequency Acceptable

Quality Level

Contract

Deliverables

Contract deliverables furnished as prescribed in the PWS, attachments, CDRLs, Task Orders, etc., as applicable.

Inspection by the

COR

100% inspection of all contract deliverables.

>95% of deliverables submitted timely and without rework required.

Overall Contract

Performance

Overall contract performance of sufficient quality to earn a Satisfactory (or higher) rating in the

COR’s annual report on Contractor

Performance

Assessment by the COR

Annual All performance elements rated

Satisfactory (or higher)

Invoicing Monthly invoices per contract procedures are timely and accurate.

Review & acceptance of the invoice

Monthly

(No later than 14 business days after the closing of the benefit cycle)

100% accuracy

11. Points of Contact

Contracting Office POC:

Matthew Pizzarelli, NAVSUP FLC Norfolk, Philadelphia Office

Email: matthew.f.pizzarelli.civ@us.navy.mil

Phone: