Responses_to_Questions_-_PBGC01-RP-15-0004.pdf

Responses to Questions

Solicitation PBGC01-RP-15-0004, FBA’s Wilmington and Coraopolis

Question 1. Is there an incumbent on this effort? If so does this include the bi-linguals needed for this effort?

Response 1. Yes. Integrated Management Resource Group (IMRG) is the incumbent for Coraopolis FBA and Benefit Services Unlimited (BSU) is the incumbent for Wilmington FBA. The current contract requires bi-lingual personnel.

Question 2. Does administrative support past performance that is not specific to plan administration eliminate us from consideration?

Response 2. Refer to Section L.5.1.B Factor 3 and Section M.2 Factor 3.

Question 3: Is this a follow-on requirement? If so, could you please provide the incumbent contract number for this opportunity?

Response 3. Yes this is a follow-on requirement. The contracts numbers for IMRG (Coraopolis) is

PBGC01-CT-09-0031 and Benefit Services Unlimited (Wilmington) is PBGC01-CT-09-0029.

Question 4. If not, is this a new requirement?

Response 4. See response to question # 3.

Question 5. Was the incumbent contract also subject to the SCA? If yes, please provide the SCA labor categories on the incumbent contract and how many incumbent personnel will be subject to the new contract and Non-displacement of Qualified Workers provisions of the FAR clause.

Response 5. Yes, the incumbent was subject to the SCA. Refer to Section B.2 for the labor categories/SCA occupation codes. Reference Clause 52.222-17 for the Non-displacement of Qualified

Workers provisions.

Question 6. Please provide seniority of all incumbent contract staff subject to the requirements of SCA.

Response 6. Refer to Section B.2 for the labor categories/SCA occupation codes.

Question 7. Are the incumbent contractors small businesses and eligible to bid on the re-competition of these contracts?

Response 7. Yes. Both incumbent contractors are small businesses and are eligible to re-compete.

Question 8. Section B Wilmington Total Hours is 125,150 however hours do not add to this amount.

Please clarify the correct hours for each year of Wilmington FBA.

Response 8. See Amendment 01.

Question 9. Section B – Labor Categories. For Service Contract Act related positions, please provide the number of service years and number of personnel currently working.

Response 9. Refer to Section B.2 for the labor categories/SCA occupation codes

Question 10. Section C page 23, C.30 Reporting Requirements – bullet “Overtime” indicates overtime will be permitted for some positions, however Section B does not include an overtime column. Please confirm whether overtime is or is not allowed under the awards and whether Section B will be changed to include a column for overtime.

Response 10. C.30 has been revised to clarify that only SCA labor categories are allowed overtime. See

Amendment 01.

Question 11. Section C page 16, C.6 Quality Control – Please confirm a Quality Control Plan is not required with the proposal submission.

Response 11. Correct. The Quality Control Plan is due 30 days after contract award. See Amendment 01.

Question 12. Section L.1 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors allows multiple offers and states that each offer will be evaluated separately. – Item (e) “Multiple Offers.” Section M.1.2 Factor Four states “If

Offerors are proposing for both FBA locations, each price proposal will be evaluated separately.” May an offeror propose separate prices for each location and in addition provide as a third proposal a combined price for both locations? We believe we can present PBGC a lower overall price in the event of an award of both locations than if the two locations are considered separately resulting in a cost savings to the

Agency.

Response 12. Please refer to ADDENDUM to 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors. Addendum to Paragraph

(e) Multiple offers. Paragraph (e) Multiple offers is deleted in its entirety. Proposals will be accepted for each location, but that multiple offers PER LOCATION will not be accepted.

Question 13. Factor 3: Past Performance – The solicitation states, “The offeror shall provide three references which clearly describe the offeror’s experience providing benefits administration to large plans with complex benefit structures such as non-level benefit structures and complex plan provisions and experience administering pension benefits to plans with over 50,000 plan participants.”

1. Is our understanding correct that the use of the term “three references” refers to three separate relevant contracts performed in the past three years and does not permit simply providing names of three individuals commenting on a single contract?

Response 13. 1. Yes, offeror’s must provide one reference for three separate contracts. Refer to Section

L.5.1.B Factor 3 and Section M.2 Factor 3.

2. Are the offeror’s past performance references limited to only relevant contracts that include plans with over 50,000 plan participants?

Response 13.2. Refer to Section L.5.1.B Factor 3 and Section M.2 Factor 3

The solicitation states, “The three references should include name of contact person, name of agency or firm for which work was performed, and including a current phone number and email address. “

3. Please confirm the offeror should only provide reference contact information under this section.

Response 13.3. Yes, the offeror should only provide reference contact information.

The solicitation states, “The extent to which the offeror provides evidence of past performance of work directly related to pension plan benefit administration measured by the following factors to include work of similar size and scope for work performed under this solicitation performed in the past three years. Three references provided shall be prepared to answer questions regarding:

1. Technical Quality of Product or Service

2. Cost Control

3. Schedule/Timeliness

4. Management or Business Relations

5. Small Business Subcontracting”

4. It is unclear as to whether this information is provided by the offeror and its references or just its references. Please clarify.

Response 13.4. The offeror shall provide reference contact information only. The information provided relating to (1) Technical Quality of Product or Service, (2) Cost Control, (3) Schedule/Timeliness, (4)

Management or Business Relations, and (5) Small Business Subcontracting will be obtained by the PBGC

Technical Evaluation Panel based on the information provided from the references.

5. To be considered, must each of the three contracts provided as references have been performed within the past three years? Is our understanding correct that if any reference contract falls outside this three year window that it will be disregarded and will not be considered in the past performance evaluation or in meeting the requirement for three references?

Response 13.5. Refer to Section L.5.1.B Factor 3 and Section M.2 Factor 3

Question 14. As stated in Section L 5.1 A. page 118, the offeror may submit an offer for both or only one location, but the page limitation on the technical proposal is the same for both? However the in Section L

B., Factor 1: Qualification of Key Personnel, the combined location proposal will include at least twice the number of Key Personnel than for those offers proposing only one location. Would PBGC consider making the page limitation for proposing on both locations greater?

Providing two price proposals as required under Section L 5.1 A. page 119 for an offeror proposing on both locations may present a problem when pricing because the award of both locations may affect both the management and price proposed by the contractor. If the PBGC awards only one location to an offeror who has proposed both, it could affect the management and pricing of the proposed two locations.

If an offeror is proposing both locations may the offeror submit two prices for each location (one price in the event of an award of a single location to the offeror and one price in the event of an award of both locations to the offeror)?

Response 14. Section L 5.1 A. clearly states that “Cover pages, tabs and qualifications of key-personnel

(key-personnel resumes) are not included in the 15 page count limit. Additionally, please refer to

ADDENDUM to 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors. Addendum to Paragraph (e) Multiple offers.

Paragraph (e) Multiple offers is deleted in its entirety. Proposals will be accepted for each location, but that multiple offers PER LOCATION will not be accepted.

Question 15. Would PBGC consider a submission of one proposal for both and another for one location only?

Response 15. Please refer to ADDENDUM to 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors. Addendum to Paragraph

(e) Multiple offers. Paragraph (e) Multiple offers is deleted in its entirety. Proposals will be accepted for each location, but that multiple offers PER LOCATION will not be accepted.

Question 16.Under Section L C page 122 and 123, the price proposal does not require any calculation of how the rates for proposed labor classes are developed, should the assumptions include a description of those costing assumptions that affected the price?

Response 16. No, these are fully burdened rates; therefore, the rates should not include a breakdown or calculation as to how the rates are proposed.