RFP_EMPLOYEE BENEFITS INSURANCE AND SERVICES.pdf

Request for Proposal Employee Benefits Insurance and Services

Project Overview:

The Barrow County School System is seeking proposals from qualified companies that can provide employee benefits and benefits support services to supplement the current and future employee benefits offered by the District. The firm would also aid in the administration and communication of its benefits program. The District seeks a firm that is well versed in the benefits market, experienced in providing voluntary benefits and services to the public education sector, and works well with various levels of staff and management.

Schedule of Events:

Proposal Release Date and Advertisements: 10/30/2025

Proposals Due: 11/17/2025 by 8:00AM EST

I. BACKGROUND

The district has approximately 2400 employees. The Section 125 plan year for the RFP will be January 1, 2027 through December 30, 2027. The term may be extended if requested by the successful proposer(s) at least 120 days in advance of current term expiration. All prices submitted must be firm for the duration of the term.

The purpose of this RFP is to secure services from a company to aid the district in providing insurance products for its employee benefits program and provide Section 125 administration. Additionally, the district is seeking a partner that has the resources and system to educate employees on changing benefit laws and requirements on a timely basis.

II. INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS AND GENERAL INFORMATION

By submitting a proposal, the firm represents that it has thoroughly examined and become familiar with the work required under this RFP and that it is capable of performing quality work to achieve the objectives. Before submitting this proposal, each firm will be held to have received all necessary information and satisfied themselves as to the existing conditions under which they will be required to operate. No allowances shall be made for any error or negligence on their part.

Firms are advised to review all sections of this RFP carefully, and to follow instructions completely, as failure to make a complete submission as described herein may result in rejection of the submission. The information contained herein is believed to be accurate but is not intended to be an expressed or implied warranty.

By submitting, the bidding firm certifies that they have fully read and understand this Request for

Proposals and has full knowledge of the scope and quality of the services to be furnished and intends to adhere to the provisions described herein. Failure to do so will be at the firm’s own risk.

Barrow County School System reserves the right to reject any or all offers and to waive informalities and minor irregularities in proposals received.

Any explanation, clarification or interpretation desired by a firm regarding any part of the RFP must be requested via email with a subject line of “BCSS Benefits RFP Clarification”.

Meggan McNally, Director of Human Resources meggan.mcnally@barrow.k12.ga.us

Request for clarification is due no later than 11/10/2025.

III. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Any firm wishing to be considered for providing services described in this RFP shall submit an electronic proposal to Meggan McNally via email at meggan.mcnally@barrow.k12.ga.us. Reference “BCSS Benefits

Proposal” in the subject line.

Responses are due no later than 11/17/2025 by 8:00AM EST.

IV. SCOPE OF SERVICES

The District is seeking an organization that can offer a package of benefits administration, communication support, and benefits to its employees. The District is particularly interested in a single company who can offer all the requested services.

All District employees will be consistently offered a range of benefit services related to the ongoing administration, employee communication, and voluntary benefit offerings.

Employees will be able to choose, within the preferred vendor’s proposal, the services and benefits that best fit their needs.

The selected firm shall provide services, including, but not limited to the following:

1) Administration Services

a) Provide a single platform online benefits enrollment software.

b) Benefits enrollment should include one on one annual enrollment with an option for employees to self-enroll via the online enrollment site, new hire enrollment, changes, and other services to reduce the related administrative demands on the

District.

c) Section 125 Administration including FSA services (full and limited purpose) and debit card options.

2) Communication Support

a) Attend, assist with, and coordinate benefits communication with the District and its staff.

b) Provide communication services for annual enrollment, new benefit offerings and/or changes to the existing benefit offerings. Services include:

i) In-person benefits education and enrollment support;

ii) In-person group meetings;

iii) Print communication;

iv) Electronic communication; and

v) Website to provide benefits education and plan summaries.

c) Recommend and help develop enhancements and improvements for communications specific to the needs of the employees (and retirees) including, but not limited to brochures, summaries, and electronic communications.

3) Voluntary Benefits

a) Offer employees voluntary benefits that supplement the core benefits provided through the District.

b) Voluntary benefits will be offered on an employee-paid basis.

4) Fees

Please clearly outline all costs associated with the Section 125 administration and other required services.

V. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

1) Company shall have at least five years of experience providing benefits services, and

Section 125 administration to public schools of similar size.

2) The company must have an active partnership with at least 5 other school districts in GA.

3) The company must not have lost partnership with more than two school districts in GA in the past two years.

4) Company shall have control of benefits administration platform (in-house programmers) to ensure that there are enough resources to support the District.

5) Company must offer the benefits administration system as either an annual open enrollment site, or as a year-round management tool.

6) Company shall employ staff that will assist in one on one employee enrollment, online enrollment, group meetings, and other in-person communication services.

VI. QUESTIONNAIRE

Organization/Company Information:

1) Provide background information about your company.

a) History

b) Provide the number of staff members employed full-time within your company

c) Organizational mission, brand, and market differentiators

2) Provide a list of your public school accounts in Georgia including services you provide, the time period you have serviced the account, the number of employees, and a reference contact name and phone number for each.

3) Describe your company structure and the departments or third party companies’ services that will be utilized in this RFP.

4) Please summarize in 250 words or less why your company is the best candidate and the principal reasons your company should be selected over your competitors

Account Management:

5) Please provide the details on the Account Management staff, including key personnel whom would have primary responsibility of supporting the District. Please include qualifications/professional destinations and any applicable credentials. Please include tit les and the total number of accounts or clients each individual handles.

6) Please describe the training provided to your field staff.

Benefits Administration:

7) Provide background on your company’s experience providing online benefits administration services.

8) What security standards do you implement to ensure participant privacy?

9) Describe your security procedures to ensure the District and employee data is protected in full.

10) Describe your Section 125 Administration.

a) Who is responsible for the employer risk? If the account is negative at the end of the plan year when the account is reconciled (i.e., employee leaves plan with negative unreimbursed medical balance), who is responsible?

b) Through which methods can employees submit claims for reimbursement?

11) Describe your online service center for employees and the District

12) Describe your firm’s service model including claims’ services.

Enrollment Services:

13) Describe the process for completing annual employee election form requirements.

14) Describe your process for onboarding new employees.

15) Provide measurements your company will have in place to ensure all employees are educated equally on the Section 125 options available to them?

16) How are employee elections communicated to the District? Provide format.

17) Describe post-enrollment services.

Employee Communication:

18) Describe the process to educate employees on the employee benefits available at open enrollment. Include a description of your print and digital resources, including benefits website.

19) How are employees able to access in-person resources to assist with the enrollment process?

Voluntary Benefits:

20) List all the benefits, products, services and administrative services you provide and the carrier or TPA utilized.

Other Services:

21) Does your company provide COBRA administration?

22) Describe the benefits compliance resources your company can offer to the district and its employees.

23) Does your company have other services or technology that could be offered?

24) Please describe any additional services or support that would be available to the District.

25) What are the hours of operation for the live customer service office?

26) Does your customer service staff support other languages? What policies and procedures are in place to accommodate these needs?

Fees:

27) Please provide the fees or requirements associated with providing each of the following services:

a. COBRA Administration

b. Section 125 Plan Administration, including formal plan setup and ongoing maintenance, employee education, election form completion, printing of enrollment materials or employee enrollment into the plan?

c. Flexible Spending Account (unreimbursed medical and dependent care) recordkeeping, including billing, processing and reimbursing claims, employee education and enrollment. Are there any additional fees for the following?

1. Flex Debit Card?

2. For your firm to provide upfront funding?

3. For your firm to cover the District’s FSA risk?

Evaluation Criteria:

Points Category

20 Experience & Qualifications

20 Scope of Services Offered

20 Benefits Administration, Platform & Services

25 References

10 Fee Transparency & Cost Competitiveness

5 Innovation & Value-Added Services

Execution of

Proposal Barrow

County Schools

TITLE: Employee Benefits Services -Section 125

ISSUE DATE: DATE

DUE DATE: DATE

ISSUING AGENCY: Barrow County School System

The potential Contractor certifies that this was signed by an authorized representative of the firm and agrees to the condition as set forth in the Request for Proposal.

Therefore, in compliance with the foregoing Request for Proposal, and subject to all terms and conditions thereof, the undersigned offers and agrees, if this proposal is accepted within 60 days from the date of the opening, to furnish the services for the prices quoted within the timeframe required.

Contractor:

Address:

Phone Number: Fax Number:

Name: Title

Federal ID Number:

Signature

Date:

THIS PAGE MUST BE COMPLETED AND SUBMITTED AS PART OF YOUR PROPOSAL