Sacramento_County_RFP_for_RHSP_05-02-2022.pdf

Background and Informat ion County of Sacramento (CA)

Title Background and Information

Category Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) Plan currently called County of Sacramento Retiree Health Savings Plan (RHSP). Record-keeper RFP

Date May 2022

BACKGROUND

The County of Sacramento is a public agency with approximately 12,000 active employees as well as 12,000 retirees providing a variety of services including public safety, public health, community and municipal services, and administrative support that serve a diverse and vibrant County populace.

Since 2007, the County has been contributing $25 per paycheck into a participant directed Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) Plan currently called County of Sacramento Retiree Health Savings Plan (RHSP). This Plan is designed to provide financial assistance with retiree medical costs. The program is available to most employee groups; however, 6 unions have voluntarily suspended contributions. Employees in those representative groups will have legacy balances for transfer.

The goal of the Plan is to provide all employees with a comprehensive, prudently managed, tax-free retirement health savings program. The Plan objectives are the following:

• Established for the exclusive benefit of the employee participants and their beneficiaries.

• Vehicle through which employees may accumulate assets to provide for a portion of their retirement health savings needs.

• Provide a broad range of investment options recognizing the differing financial objectives, risk and return tolerance, and diverse demographics of participants.

• Provide suitable investment options, considering that participants each have different investment horizons and standards of acceptable risk and returns.

• Provide investment options at a reasonable cost and control overall investment related service costs.

• Establish investment objectives and standards for the investment options offered to assure that the assets are managed in accordance with the investment policy.

• Meet the fiduciary responsibility of the Retirement Health Savings Plan.

The County would like to continue to offer the existing fund line up, which is provided as Exhibit C.

The County’s current recordkeeper, MissionSquare Retirement (formerly ICMA- RC), has administered the RHSP since inception in 2007, providing recordkeeping, participant education, and enrollment services, hosting both the participant and plan sponsor websites as well as managing the custodial trust.

The third-party claims administrator is Meritain Health.

Current Investment Line Up is provided as Exhibit C the current Investment Policy is provided as Exhibit D.

Northwest Capital Management, Inc. (NWCM) is the investment consultant to the Plan Administrator and Plan support staff.

RFP PROCESS

County of Sacramento is seeking proposals from interested firms that are qualified to provide recordkeeping and participant education services for the County’s participant directed HRA Plan, known as Sacramento County’s Retiree Health Savings Plan employer sponsored RHSP program. These primary services include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Recordkeeping

• Administration

• Claims processing

• Electronic Participant enrollment

• Participant education

• Custodial trustee service

• Regulatory support

The current contract expires on December 31, 2022. It is the County’s intention to enter into a five (5) year agreement with a qualified firm.

The primary objectives of the Request for Proposal include the following:

• Assess recordkeeper capabilities.

• Partner with a Vendor that offers the plan sponsor and participants a robust and intuitive digital experience.

• Evaluate each Vendor’s transition plan.

• Assess the competitiveness of the Plan’s fees.

• Enhance employees’ awareness of all the benefits and features the Plan offers.

• Improve participant engagement, communication and education.

• Ensure investment line-up is competitive from a fee and performance perspective.

• Strategically map participants’ assets to the Plan’s age appropriate default target date fund unless an updated investment directive from the participant is received.

• Outsource administrative functions where appropriate.

REQUIRED INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS RFP

Proposers to this RFP offer to furnish all materials, labor, supplies, equipment, and incidentals necessary to provide the services described herein in accordance with the Request for Proposal and your proposal response. Proposers certify that they carefully examined all of the documents for the RFP and carefully and thoroughly reviewed the RFP, that they understand the nature and scope of the work to be done, and that their proposal is based upon the terms, specifications, requirements, and conditions of the RFP documents. By submitting a response, you are presumed to concur with all terms, conditions, and specifications of this RFP unless you have specifically, by section number, raised objection. The contract terms will be negotiated at the conclusion of this RFP process. Proposing Firms will be given the opportunity in their response to this RFP to provide pricing information related to different term structures

DEFINITIONS

RFP/Proposer Definitions:

Response: The written, signed and sealed complete document submitted according to the proposal instructions. Response does not include any verbal or documentary interaction apart from submittal of a formal Response.

Request/Proposal/Bid: The completed and released document, including all subsequent addenda, made publicly available to all prospective proposers.

We/Us/Our: Terms that refer to the County of Sacramento, a duly organized public entity. They may also be used as pronouns for various subsets of the County organization, including, as the context will indicate:

• Purchasing - the Contracts and Purchasing Services Division of the

Department of General Services.

• Department/Division – The department or division requesting the goods or services contained in this request, for which this PROPOSAL is prepared, and which will be the end user of the requested goods or services.

• Constituency – the client base or County population which may benefit from the procurement of goods and/or services requested herein.

You/Your: Terms that refer to businesses/individuals submitting a response.

The term may apply differently as the context will indicate.

• Supplier - A business entity engaged in the business of providing retirement plan recordkeeping, education, plan administration, communications, and investment related services.

• Proposer - A business entity submitting a Response to this proposal.

Suppliers which may express interest in this proposal, but who do not submit a Response, have no obligations with respect to the proposal requirements.

• Quoter/Proposer - A business entity submitting a Response to this proposal.

Suppliers which may express interest in this proposal, but who do not submit a Response, have no obligations with respect to the proposal requirements.

• Vendor - The Proposer(s) whose Response to this proposal is evaluated as meeting the needs of the County. Vendor(s) will be selected for award and will enter into a contract(s) for provision of the services described in this proposal.

• Vendor’s Employee - All persons who can be offered to provide the services described in the proposal. All employees of the Vendor shall be covered by the insurance programs normally provided to persons employed by a company (ex: Worker’s Comp, SDI, etc.).

Mandatory: A required element of this request/proposal/bid. Failure to satisfy any element of this request/proposal/bid defined as “mandatory” will disqualify the particular response.

Default: A failure to act as required by any contract resulting from this request, which may trigger the right to sue or may excuse the other party's obligation to perform under the contract.

Cancellation/Termination: A unilateral or mutual decision to not complete an exchange or perform an obligation under any contract resulting from this request.

“Or Equal”: A statement used for reference to indicate the character or quality desired in a requested product or service. When specified in a proposal document, equal items will be considered, provided the response clearly describes the article. Offers of equal items must state the brand and number, or level of quality. When brand, number, or level of quality is not stated by proposer, the offer will be considered exactly as specified. The determination of the Purchasing Agent as to what items are equal is final and conclusive

Plan Specific Definitions:

Board means the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors.

Business Day means each Calendar Day except Saturday, Sunday, and official County of Sacramento holidays.

Calendar Day or Day refers to a period of twenty-four hours starting at midnight.

Calendar Year or Year means the time period from January 1 to December 31.

Committee means the Retiree Health Savings Plan Advisory Committee

Confidential Information means all tangible and intangible information and materials being disclosed in connection with the Contract, in any form or medium without regard to whether the information is owned by the County of Sacramento or by a third party, which satisfies at least one of the following criteria: (i) Individual Personal Information; (ii) Personally Identifiable Information under Wis. Stat. § 19.62(5); (iii) Protected Health Information under HIPAA, 45 CFR 160.103; (iv) proprietary information; (v) non-public information related to the County of Sacramento’s employees, customers, technology (including data bases, data processing and communications networking systems), schematics, specifications, and all information or materials derived therefrom or based thereon; (vi) information expressly designated as confidential in writing by the State of California;(vii) all information that is restricted or prohibited from disclosure by State or federal law, including Individual Personal Information and Medical Records or (viii) any material submitted by the Proposer in response to this RFP that the Proposer designates confidential and proprietary information and which qualifies as a trade secret, (5) or material which can be kept confidential under the California public records law.

Contract means the written agreement resulting from the successful Proposal and subsequent negotiations that shall incorporate, among other things, this RFP and all Appendices, Addendums, and Forms, the successful Proposer's Proposal as accepted by the Department, an updated and executed Appendix 1 – Pro Forma Contract, its exhibits, subsequent amendments and other documents as agreed upon by the Department and the Contractor.

Contractor means a Proposer who is awarded a Contract from this RFP.

Cost Proposal means the information submitted by a Proposer that includes Proposer’s costs to provide the Services Cost Proposal is one of the required components all Proposers must submit.

Employee means any person who receives earnings as payment for personal services rendered for the benefit of any employer including officers of the employer and is eligible to participate in the plan.

Mandatory means the least possible threshold, functionality, degree, performance, etc. needed to meet a compulsory requirement.

Participant means an individual who is currently receiving employer contributions under the employer. Only individuals who perform services for the employer as an employee may receive benefits under the plan. See Plan and Trust Document.

Participant Accounts means individuals with a positive balance in their Plan accounts.

Personally Identifiable Information or PII means information that is capable of identifying a particular individual through one or more identifiers or other information or circumstances. See definition of Confidential Information above.

Plan or Plan Sponsor means the County of.

Plan and Trust Document means the plan document setting forth the rules and responsibilities of all parties involved with the Plan.

Program means the: County Of Sacramento Retiree Health Savings Plan

Proposal means the complete response of a Proposer submitted in the format specified in this RFP, which sets forth the services offered by a Proposer and Proposer’s pricing for providing the Services described in this RFP.

Protected Health Information or PHI has the meaning ascribed to it under 45 CFR 160.103. See definition of Confidential Information above.

Services means all work performed, labor, actions, recommendations, plans, research, and documentation provided by the Contractor necessary to fulfill that which the Contractor is obligated to provide under the Contract as described in Scope of Work. – Program Agreement and the County of Sacramento Plan and Trust Document as may be amended and restated.

State means the State of California.

State Statutes or California Statutes means California State Statutes referenced in this RFP Subcontractor means a person or company hired by the Proposer to perform a specific task or provide Services as part of the Contract

Event/Action Date

RFP Release Date Monday, May 2, 2022

Proposer Conference Via Zoom meeting:

https://saccounty-net.zoomgov.com/j/1607968531?pwd=c1l0OUN pNTd5SlVYY1hWeXVqV1B3dz09 Meeting ID: 160 796 8531 Passcode: 270739

Dial by your location +1 669 254 5252 US (San Jose) +1 646 828 7666 US (New York) Meeting ID: 161 7500 7058

Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at 12 p.m. PST

Deadline for submitting written questions;

please use the following contact information:

Donna Bonnel bonneld@saccounty.gov

Friday, May 13, 2022 at 5 p.m. PST

Addendum issued (if necessary) Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at

5 p.m. PST

Proposals Due Proposals can be sent in either of two ways:

Electronically to the following email address:

Donna Bonnel Employee Benefits Supervisor bonneld@saccounty.gov

Electronically to following website:

https://secure.procure ow.com/signup

Friday, May 27, 2022 at 5 p.m. PST

Interview Finalists (if necessary) proposers should save the date Monday, June 20, 2022

Award of Contract TBD https://saccounty-net.zoomgov.com/j/1607968531?pwd=c1l0OUNpNTd5SlVYY1hWeXVqV1B3dz09 https://saccounty-net.zoomgov.com/j/1607968531?pwd=c1l0OUNpNTd5SlVYY1hWeXVqV1B3dz09 https://saccounty-net.zoomgov.com/j/1607968531?pwd=c1l0OUNpNTd5SlVYY1hWeXVqV1B3dz09 mailto:bonneld@saccounty.gov mailto:bonneld@saccounty.gov https://secure.procurenow.com/signup

1. PROPOSER’S INSTRUCTIONS

GENERAL FORMAT

Respond to all requests for information and completion of forms contained in this Request for Proposal. You may use additional sheets as necessary. A qualifying response must address all items. Brochures and advertisements will not be considered a complete reply to requests for information and will not be accepted as such. Proposer is solely responsible for accuracy and completeness of proposal response and for electronically separating and marking documents as confidential when submitting their response through Public Purchase. Responses considered incomplete may be rejected.

ALTERATION OF PROPOSAL TEXT

The original text of this proposal document, as well as any attachments, amendments or other official correspondence related to this proposal document, may not be manually, electronically or otherwise altered by proposer or proposer’s agent(s). Any response containing altered, deleted, additional or otherwise non-original text will be disqualified.

PREPARATION OF RESPONSE

A. All responses must be signed by an authorized officer or employee of the responder.

B. Responses must be submitted prior to the specified date and time, using the https://secure.procurenow.com/website. Bidders shall create a FREE account with ProcureNow by signing up at https://secure.procurenow.com/signup. Click on “Submit Response”, and follow the instructions to submit the electronic bid. Responses delivered by hand, fax, telephone, e-mail, or any postal carrier will not be accepted. If bidder uploads a file to ProcureNow, it is bidder responsibility to ensure the file is not corrupt or damaged. If the County is unable to open an attachment because it is damaged, corrupt, infected, etc., it may disqualify bidder’s submission.

C. Required Submittals: At a minimum, proposer’s response must include all of the required documents listed below. Failure to include required information will result in proposer’s response being disqualified.

MANDATORY ITEMS

• Detailed response to Proposer response section:

• Appendix C – Minimum Insurance Requirements

• Appendix D – Contractors Certification of Compliance Form

• Appendix E - References

• Appendix F – Risk Assessment Questionnaire

• Appendix G – HIPPA Business Associate agreement

• Appendix H – Certification Regarding Debarment and Suspension

• Appendix I – Security Supplemental Terms And Conditions

• Appendix J – Information Security Requirements

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION/PUBLIC RECORD

Confidential Information/Public Record: All responses become property of the County. All responses, including the accepted proposal and any subsequent contract, become public records per the requirements of the California Government Code, Sections 6250-6270, “California Public Records Act”. Proprietary material must be clearly marked as such. Pricing and service elements of the successful proposal are not considered proprietary information.

The County will treat all information submitted in a proposal as available for public inspection once a vendor has been recommended to the Board of Supervisors for selection. If you believe that you have a legally justifiable basis under the California Public Records Act (Government Section 6250 et. seq.) for protecting the confidentiality of any information contained within your proposal, you must identify any such information, together with the legal basis of your claim in your proposal and present such information separately as part of your response package. Public Purchase allows you to mark such documents as “confidential” when uploaded into the system.

In order for the County to assert the confidentiality of any such information if a Public Records Act request is received, the proposer must request, execute and submit a County-prepared written agreement to defend and indemnify the County for any liability, costs and expenses incurred in asserting such confidentiality. The final determination as to whether or not the County will assert the claim of confidentiality on behalf of the proposer is in the sole discretion of the County.

2. BASIS OF AWARD

This proposal award will be determined by factors other than price alone. The County’s sole purpose in the evaluation process is to determine from among the Responses received, which one is best suited to meet the County’s needs. County may award a contract to one or more Proposing Firms.

Any final analysis or weighted point score does not imply that one proposal is superior to another, but simply that in our judgment the proposal(s) we select offer the best overall solution for our current and anticipated needs.

The County reserves the right to make modifications to any scoring and/or weight structure prior to the evaluation of responses. The responses will remain sealed during the proposal evaluation period and will be made available for public inspection once a vendor has been recommended.

Bid responses will be considered valid for a period of 365 calendar days after bid closing date above.

Prior to Evaluation, each Proposal will be reviewed for responsiveness to the RFP requirements and Proposer’s standing relative to the stated Minimum Qualifications. The County of Sacramento Contracts and Purchasing Services Division will notify any Proposer determined not meeting the Minimum Qualifications for Award Consideration prior to proceeding with the evaluation process. You will have three working days, after date of notification, to present information supporting your adherence to the minimum qualifications. The County will make a final minimum qualification determination, after review of supporting information, before completing the evaluation. We will assume your concurrence with the County decision on your minimum qualification status if no additional information is provided within the time period provided. RFP responsiveness to requested information.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS RFP

To assist you in responding to this RFP, the County has provided the following Plan details:

• Exhibit A - Current Plan Details and Statistics

• Exhibit B - Plan Assets

• Exhibit C – Current/Preferred Investment Lineup

• Exhibit D – Current Fund Policy

• Exhibit E – Proposed Fund Line Up

Record-keeper Scope of Work & Proposer Response County of Sacramento

Title Scope of Work & Proposer Response Questions

Category Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) Plan currently called County of Sacramento Retiree Health Savings Plan (RHSP) Record-keeper RFP

Date April 2022

Section Weights A. Organization Background 100

Staff/Employee Training/Compensation of Service Team, References 70

Structure/Affiliates 10 Internal Policies/Insurance/Litigation/Fiduciary Services 10 Client Base/Relevant Experience 10

B. Recordkeeping 130 Systems 10 Plan Sponsor Experience 60 Participant Experience 60

C. Plan Administration and Claims Processing 100 D. Cybersecurity and Personal Data 100 Personal Data 50 Cybersecurity 50 E. Education Services 200 Participant Experience/Education 150 Plan Sponsor Support/Education/Training 50 F. Transition Management 100 Conversion "Campaign" 34 Process 33 Roles/Responsibilities/Conversion Team 33

G. Investments 100 Preferred Lineup 50 General Investment Information 10 Fund Additions/Changes/Designating QDIAs 15 Revenue Sharing 15

Excessive Trading/Trade Errors/Short Term Redemption Fees 10

H. Trust/Custody Services 50 I. Proposed Annual Recordkeeping Fees 120 Proposed Annual Recordkeeping & Administrative Fee 95 Fees for Other Services 25 Total 1000

SCOPE OF WORK

A. Organization

• Carry the required insurance as detailed in Appendix C.

• Exhibit expertise and familiarity with these plans.

• Provide an experienced team capable of servicing the plan, consistent with or above current standards.

B. Recordkeeping Services

• Ensure plan is adhering to all required standards and “best practices”.

• Preparation and delivery of communication materials:

o Annual participant notices, including all required disclosures o Participant enrollment and education o Annual targeted statement stuffer or e-mail blast o Have the ability to monitor and report the results of participant campaigns

• Provide Plan documents.

• Attend quarterly/semi-annual meetings with the Committee.

• Provide robust software with the capabilities to track and maintain participant and beneficiary/survivor records.

• Assist in the identification and monitoring of key metrics that lead to participant success:

o Ensure plan is designed to meet these goals

• Provide Sponsor with robust plan level reporting package:

o Present participant activity report to the County at quarterly/semi-annual meetings (meeting can be conducted via internet) o Ability to run ad hoc reports including, but not limited to, the following elements Participation rates Asset allocation

• Ability to provide plan sponsor with a transparent fee summary of all vendor compensation (both direct and indirect).

• Proposer must accept full responsibility for processing errors it makes, and they must be reported within a reasonable period of time. If a participant incurs a loss or a lost opportunity due to such error, the Proposer will adjust the participant's account to the same level as if the processing error had not occurred.

• Offer complete plan sponsor web experience.

• Offer complete participant web experience, including:

o On-line Transaction processing o Mobile functionality o Participant Education

Investment education

Distribution education

• Provide comprehensive services including:

o Investment contributions according to participant elections o Balance tracking by source and fund

• Call center availability for participants:

o Provide multilingual phone support o Archive participant calls

C. Plan Administration And Claims Processing

• Provide comprehensive distribution services including:

o Systematic payments, such as monthly/quarterly payments

• Call center availability for participants:

o Provide multilingual phone support o Archive participant calls

• Offer complete participant web and mobile experience, including:

o On-line Transaction processing o Mobile functionality o Participant Education

Investment education Distribution education

D. Cybersecurity and Personal Data

• Comprehensive security and privacy standards as it relates to your system.

• Confirmation that participant data will not be used for marketing purposes.

• Provide cyber security protection for participant and plan data. Provide system back-ups in cases of outages and/or disasters.

E. Education Services

• Provide a licensed education specialist who will:

o Provide onsite meetings with plan participants o Conduct participant educational webinars as requested o Help participants assess their retirement needs and savings goals o Design participant education campaigns around plan-specific needs

• Provide tools to measure the effectiveness of education and communication initiatives.

F. Transition Management (if necessary)

• Coordinate and provide support throughout plan transition.

• Create and deliver to participants all required communications.

• Provide transition timeline for documents and data.

• Provide transition specific participant education along with initial and re-enrollment support.

G. Investment Platform

• Ability to use some/all of the preferred investment lineup.

• Ability to credit revenue sharing back at the participant level.

• Assign Qualified Default Investment Alternative (“QDIA”) based on multiple age ranges.

• Ability to use Stable Value Products.

H. Trust and Custody Services

• Provide trust and custody services.

• Ability to custody outside investment funds.

I. Proposed Annual Recordkeeping Fees

• Provide a competitive fee quote for the services included in this scope of work.

PROPOSER RESPONSE SECTION

A. Organization Background (100 points maximum)

Staff / Employee Training / Compensation Assigned Service Team / References (70 pts)

A1. Populate the information regarding the proposed service team in the following table:

Relationship

Manager (RM) Education Specialist

Compliance Specialist

Dedicated Account Manager

Name Location Years of industry

Tenure with firm and tenure in this position

Current number of relationships

Maximum number of

Degrees, certifications, professional designations

Hours of availability to

If the table above does not fully capture the service team that would be assigned to the County, please provide additional information and roles of all team members, including names and titles.

A2. Would any of the team members be bilingual?

a. Would participants have access to bilingual employees via the call center? (Yes/No)

b. Would members of the onsite conversion team be bilingual?

(Yes/No)

A3. What credentials, certifications and licensing will field representatives have?

a. Specifically, will the County’s field representatives hold Certified Financial Planner (“CFP”) or Chartered Financial Analyst (“CFA”) designations, or Series 65 licenses?

A4. How is the performance of each plan team member evaluated?

a. How does their performance impact compensation?

b. What criteria is used for the evaluation?

c. Does the plan sponsor have any input in the process?

Structure / Affiliates (10 pts)

A5. Describe any significant changes to structure or leadership, in the past three years, or any anticipated changes in the foreseeable future.

Internal Policies / Insurance / Litigation / Fiduciary Services (10 pts)

A6. Disclose any current and pending litigation, sanctions, or administrative actions against your firm, including any affiliate companies, in the past five years.

A7. Describe in detail the fiduciary responsibility your firm assumes as a service provider.

Client Base / Relevant Experience (10 pts)

A8. Please complete the following table:

Plan Assets Number of Plans Number of RHS Plans

$50MM-$150MM

$150MM-$250MM

Over $250MM

A9. How many clients have you won or acquired (and continue to maintain) in the past three years?

Year Number of RHSP Plans Retention Percentage

A10. Complete the following table listing the number of Plans that have terminated services with your firm in the past three years. Indicate which plans left due to merger or plan termination.

Plan Assets Number of Plans Number of RHS Plans

$50MM-$150MM

Over $250MM

B. Recordkeeping and Administration (130 points maximum)

Sacramento County Retiree Health Savings Plan is a Health Reimbursement Account and the record-keeper and/or Third Party Administrator must have knowledge of and experience with the administration and compliance of a participant directed HRA Plan.

Systems (10 pts)

B1. Is your current recordkeeping software proprietary? (Yes/No) If it is non-proprietary, what software and version are utilized?

B2. Who is responsible for keeping the system compliant with current regulations?

B3. Describe any specific enhancements for the system that are planned in the next 12 months.

Plan Sponsor Experience (60 pts)

B4. Describe how annual and ongoing participant communications and disclosures are handled (e.g. fund, provision, and fee changes). List provided notices and disclosures, include who is responsible for fulfillment, along with any additional fees that apply.

B5. Do you provide 408(b)(2) compliant fee disclosure reports to your governmental clients? (Yes/No) If no, what fee disclosures do you provide?

B6. Describe the quarterly and annual demographic reports and notifications available to plan sponsors. Can a sponsor set up certain reports to be pushed to them? (Yes/No) If yes, list the reports available.

B7. How do you report key plan metrics and plan financial information to the plan sponsor?

a. Is this information routinely distributed to the plan sponsor or do they have to submit a request via the sponsor website?

b. At what frequency is this information is provided?

c. Can the plan sponsor create custom reports with these plan metrics and financial information?

B8. Provide demo access to your plan sponsor website in the chart below:

Website Address User Name

B9. Describe the key features of your plan sponsor website.

B10. If the County utilizes a plan document provided by outside counsel?

a. Confirm you can service the plan with an outside document provider.

b. What limitations, if any, does this impose?

c. How does your firm ensure that an employer’s plan meets all regulatory requirements, including participant disclosures and plan document operational compliance?

B11. Do you provide plan design technical support to assist the County when looking at plan design changes?

B12. What legal resources are available to your firm to obtain legal opinions or interpretations of regulations and plan compliance issues?

B13. Do you provide additional professional services (e.g. plan design)?

(Yes/No) If so, please list services and indicate if the services are included in your bid, or are they charged separately.

B14. Please describe the regulatory compliance requirements for a participant directed HRA plan such as the Sacramento County Retiree Health Savings Plan Account, and how your firm ensures the legal requirements are met.

B15. What other compliance support do you provide to Sacramento

County?

B16. How are regulatory changes implemented by your firm to ensure minimal disruption to Sacramento County and its participants?

B17. Please provide a sample (as an appendix) of your payroll layout that will allow the plan sponsor to maximize the capabilities of your platform.

B18. If this data is submitted with each payroll, what services can your system provide to assist plan sponsors?

Participant Experience (60 pts)

B19. What mediums of participant communication are available (e.g.

statement stuffers, email, video, etc.)? Which are available bilingually?

B20. Can you support targeted communications (active vs retired, etc.)?

(Yes/No) Is this integrated into your annual education initiatives or does the plan sponsor need to initiate segmented communication campaigns?

B21. Does your firm conduct satisfaction surveys at the participant level?

(Yes/No) If so, please provide a recent survey.

B22. Provide demo access to your participant website in the chart below:

B23. Describe the key features of your participant website.

B24. How many clicks does it take to view the investment menu?

B25. Describe in detail the capabilities of your mobile experience:

a. Do you provide a dedicated app, or do you offer a conforming website? (Yes/No)

b. Can investment allocation changes be made on mobile device?

(Yes/No)

c. Can participants list/change a beneficiary/survivor on the mobile application? (Yes/No)

d. Can claims submissions be completed on the mobile application?

B26. What are the call center hours of operation?

B27. Describe how the call center will be able to answer ‘County-specific’ questions from plan participants.

B28. Are calls recorded in the event there is a dispute? (Yes / No) If so, how long are recordings archived? Do you make recorded conversations available for the sponsor to review?

B29. Describe your participant statement delivery process, include delivery methods and timing.

B30. Would the plan sponsor be able to customize statements? (Yes/No) If so, describe what types of customizations are available.

B31. Would the plan sponsor be able to provide information or communication that could be included in a statement mailing?

B32. Provide a sample participant statement that includes details on participant fees and credits.

B33. Would the plan sponsor be able to provide information or communication that could be included in the website? (Yes/No)

B34. Describe how beneficiary/survivor information is obtained from the participant?

C. Plan Administration and Claims Processing (100 points maximum)

C1. Please provide a detailed paragraph stating how you intend to process claims. If you intend to use a Third-Party Administrator, all of the following responses must indicate if your response relates to in-house services, or those provided by a Third Party Administrator.

C2. How many retiree health care participant transactions (claims) does your company process each year?

C3. If claims processing is facilitated through a third-party provider, please complete the table below

Plan Assets Number of Plans Number of RHS Plans

$50MM-$150MM

C4. The County’s 2021 claim volume was: 21,105 with 1,251 unique participants.

C5. Please provide the following.

Transaction per Year Number of RHS Plans

1-100 101-250

251-1,000 1,001- 5,000

>5,000

C6. Provide demo access to your claims website in the chart below:

C7. Describe the overall claims and distribution processes?

C8. What options do participants have for receiving payment of claims

(direct deposit, debit card, etc…)?

C9. What is the average turnaround time for claims processing?

C10. If debit cards are available, can RHS funds held in variable investments be accessed through usage of the debit card?

C11. What is the average auto-substantiation rate associated with your debit cards?

C12. Describe the key features of their website including how claims are submitted, adjudicated, etc.

C13. Describe the key features of the website that assist participants filing/reviewing claims.

C14. How many clicks does it take to view claims activity?

C15. Can claims be submitted directly from a vendor/provider? If yes, what steps are required by the participant?

C16. Do you offer a debit card? If yes, how many can a participant receive?

C17. Describe in detail the capabilities of your mobile experience:

a. Do you provide a dedicated app, or do you offer a conforming website? (Yes/No)

b. Can claims submissions be completed on the mobile application?

C18. What are the call center hours of operation?

C19. Describe how the call center will be able to answer ‘County-specific’ questions from plan participants.

Website Address Username

C20. Please fully describe your check distribution process, including frequency.

Are you able to rush off-cycle checks for special situations? If so, are there additional fees for rush services?

C21. Are calls recorded in the event there is a dispute? (Yes/ No) If so, how long are recordings archived? Do you make recorded conversations available for the sponsor to review?

C22. Describe your participant statement delivery process, include delivery methods and timing.

C23. Would the plan sponsor be able to customize claims statements?

(Yes/No) If so, describe what types of customizations are available.

C24. Would the plan sponsor be able to provide information or communication that could be included in a statement mailing?

C25. Would the plan sponsor be able to provide information or communication that could be included in the claims/TPA’s website?

C26. Provide a sample participant claims statement that includes details on participant activity and fees.

C27. Please provide details on the claims processing fees that will be assess to participant accounts. Please provide details on each fee and the cadence of when those fees are assessed.

C28. If any of the responses are related to a Third Party Administrator, please provide the following:

a. How long is your current contract with the existing TPA?

b. Please provide details on whether the Plan Sponsor has the ability to select an alternate vendor.

D. Cybersecurity and Personal Data (100 points maximum)

If you are using a Third Party Administration, please provide responses to the following questions for both your organization as well as the Third Party Administrator.

Personal Data (50 pts)

D1. What is your policy regarding the use of participant data to market or sell products or services unrelated to the plan?

D2. Briefly describe your maintenance and backup procedures. Include information on daily backups, retention timetables, and off-site backup storage routines. Also, include a description of how access to participant data (current and archived) is controlled and monitored (i.e., who specifically can view participant account data, who can print this data, who can remove this data from your facility either on a laptop, memory stick, compact disc, or as a printed report).

D3. What is your company’s privacy policy regarding sharing client or account information? Describe fully how participant data will be used for marketing or other purposes external to normal plan administrative and/or recordkeeping activities.

D4. Describe your company’s indemnification policy for cyber and fraud events. Describe fully how participant data will be used for marketing or other purposes external to normal plan administrative and/or recordkeeping activities.

Cybersecurity (50 pts)

D5. What level of cybersecurity standards have you implemented and met? Are these standards subject to an independent audit for verification? Do clients have access to the results of these verification audits?

D6. Describe how the standards and methods you have adopted protect participant data.

D7. Have you had security breaches in the past 5 years, describe the incidents, and how you have dealt with them?

D8. Do you conduct periodic risk assessments to identify cybersecurity threats, vulnerabilities, and potential business consequences?

D9. Provide the number of outages that have occurred in the past five years. Provide details regarding each outage and a description of the final resolution to fix the issue(s).

D10. Briefly describe your information security protocols.

D11. Include the level of data encryption used.

D12. Disclose any incident which has occurred within the last 3 years that did or potentially could have jeopardized the security of participant information in your recordkeeping system.

D13. If a security breach were to occur, what is your process to recover data, replace any monetary loss and prevent further loss of data?

D14. How is indicative data, including social security numbers, protected against fraud/theft (both internal and external threats)? Specifically, non-web based threats from call center or paper requests?

D15. Does your service agreement indemnify the County and its participants from any action should security protocols fail? Please provide sample agreement language.

D16. Do you offer a “Cybersecurity Guarantee” where you will compensate participants for any unauthorized transfer of cash out of their account? If so, what are the specific conditions that would apply?

a. Provide a detailed list of requirements by the plan sponsor or the plan participant to qualify for full indemnification under your firm’s guarantee

E. Education Services (200 points maximum)

Participant Education (150 pts)

E1. Provide a 12-month (first year) participant education and communication calendar. Provide a detailed summary of the participant education initiatives your firm would seek to accomplish.

Be sure to create a separate calendar for any transition education and communications. Please include samples of materials, their frequency, topics, timing and locations. At minimum, the calendar should address the following:

a. Onsite group sessions.

b. Individual consultations.

c. Financial planning.

d. Mailings.

e. Web-based education.

f. Other mediums or forms of communication to participants.

E2. How many days of on-site participant education/support are you willing to provide per year?

E3. Describe your ability to accommodate on-site participant education/support at multiple locations, potentially on an ad-hoc basis.

E4. Do you offer plan sponsors the ability to create and record video education sessions specific to their plan? (Yes/No) If so, describe what resources are available and the logistics involved in the process.

E5. How does your firm ensure the information and guidance offered to participants onsite and virtually, is consistent and accurate?

Plan Sponsor Education / Training (50 pts)

E6. Do you provide training and best practice education to plan sponsors?

(Yes/No) If so, provide details including the frequency of training and education that would be offered.

E7. Describe website or report generation training available to County staff.

F. Transition Management (100 points maximum)

Conversion “Campaign” (34 pts)

F1. Why is your transition process better than your competitors? What differentiates it?

F2. Are you willing to include a performance guarantee for your conversion process? (Yes/No)

F3. Do you provide education and training support for the plan sponsor, specific to a plan conversion? (Yes/No)

F4. Provide a detailed transition communication plan. Be sure to specifically address the following:

a. Timeline

b. Mailings

c. Emails

d. Group educations sessions

e. Individual educational sessions, including scheduling. How would it be communicated that “significant other’s” are welcome to attend?

f. Website

g. Communications and disclosure fulfillment services

F5. Based on the County’s unique demographics and geographic locations, complete the following table:

Description Response

Proposed number of onsite transition days Proposed number of group transition meetings Proposed number of individual transition meetings Total number of licensed employees that will be onsite during the transition

Process (33 pts)

F6. Describe any training available for County staff on payroll and census data submissions. When is this training typically completed (i.e., how far in advance of a conversion date)?

F7. Describe how participant historical investment performance would be handled in the conversion.

F8. Describe how current beneficiary/survivor information would be handled at conversion.

F9. If a participant re-enrollment occurs at conversion, how many days on average will assets be in a money market / sweep fund before transferring to participant’s elections or age appropriate QDIA?

F10. Can you support participant re-enrollment and /or strategic mapping to a Qualified Default Investment Alternative (“QDIA”) (if participant fails to provide investment direction) at conversion?

F11. Do you provide a conversion website? (Yes/No) If so, please provide a demo user ID and password:

Roles / Responsibilities / Conversion Team (33 pts)

F12. Provide a detailed overview of the team assigned to this conversion.

F13. Describe the experience of the conversion project manager that will be assigned, including the number and size (assets and headcount) of the conversions completed over the past 3 years.

G. Investments (100 points maximum)

Preferred Lineup (50 pts)

The County’s preferred lineup is listed below:

Proposed total hours of onsite transition education and communication

The plan has implemented the lowest net share class/vehicle for all investment options.

Fund Ticker

Prospect us Net

Expense Ratio

Asset Class

Fidelity Investments Money Market FDS Government Instl FRGXX 0.14% Money Market

VantagePoint Plus Fund S11 92211R 318 0.53% Stable Value

Vanguard Total Bond Market Index I VBTIX 0.04% US Intermediate Core

Bond Met West Total Return Bond Plan MWTSX 0.37% US Intermediate

Core-Plus Bond Vanguard Institutional Index I VINIX 0.04% US Large-Cap Blend Parnassus Core Equity Institutional PRILX 0.62% US Large-Cap Blend

Fidelity Contrafund K6 FLCNX 0.45% US Large-Cap Growth JPMorgan Equity Income R6 OIEJX 0.46% US Large-Cap Value Vanguard Extended Market Index Institutional VIEIX 0.05% US Mid-Cap Blend

JPMorgan Small Cap Equity R6 VSENX 0.74% US Small-Cap Blend Vanguard Total Intl Stock Index I VTSNX 0.08% Foreign Large Blend

Fidelity Overseas Fund FOSFX 0.99% Foreign Large Growth Vanguard Target Retirement Income Fund VTINX 0.08% Target-Date

Retirement Vanguard Target Retirement 2015 Fund VTXVX 0.08% Target-Date 2015

Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 Fund VTWNX 0.08% Target-Date 2020

Vanguard Target Retirement 2025 Fund VTTVX 0.08% Target-Date 2025

Vanguard Target Retirement 2030 Fund VTHRX 0.08% Target-Date 2030

Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund VTTHX 0.08% Target-Date 2035

Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 Fund VFORX 0.08% Target-Date 2040

Vanguard Target Retirement 2045 Fund VTIVX 0.08% Target-Date 2045

Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 Fund VFIFX 0.08% Target-Date 2050

2055 Fund VFFVX 0.08% Target-Date 2055

Vanguard Target Retirement 2060 Fund VTTSX 0.08% Target-Date 2060+

2065 Fund VLXVX 0.08% Target-Date 2060+

G1. Are all the above funds available on your platform? (Yes/No) If not, please identify.

G2. Provide expense ratio and revenue sharing currently in place for the plan’s preferred lineup in the table provided above.

G3. Does your platform offer cheaper share classes of these funds?

(Yes/No) If yes, clearly indicate where applicable.

G4. Does your firm have a financial relationship with any of the investment options requested in the preferred lineup table? (Yes/No) If so, please describe.

General Investment Information (10 pts)

G5. Are you willing to recordkeep non-proprietary collective trusts and separate accounts vehicles? (Yes/No)

a. Describe any requirements or restrictions in the utilization of these types of investments.

G6. Do you have trading agreements with the County’s preferred fund families outlined in the “PREFERRED LINEUP” section immediately preceding question F1 (Yes/No) If not, are you willing to obtain trading agreements with each fund company by the conversion date provided in the RFP timeline?

Fund Additions / Changes / Designating QDIAs (15 pts)

G7. Describe how your firm handles participant notices relating to investment changes?

G8. Describe your firm’s fund change process.

G9. Is there a limit to the number of fund changes that can be made without incurring additional fees?

G10. Post conversion, are you willing to add funds if a trading agreement isn’t already in place?

a. Are there any restrictions regarding adding new funds to your platform?

b. How long does it take to add or remove funds from the County’s investment platform?

G11. Operationally, are there any limits to what a plan sponsor can designate as the default investment?

Revenue Sharing (15 pts)

G12. Describe how your firm handles revenue sharing received from fund families.

G13. How do you communicate to advisors and plan sponsors when revenue sharing agreements are renegotiated (i.e., increase or decrease in revenue sharing) and/or when lower cost share classes become available on the platform?

G14. How is levelized pricing shown on participant statements?

G15. How is levelized pricing shown on the participant website?

G16. What is the frequency participant accounts are credited with revenue sharing reimbursements?

G17. Where is the revenue sharing held until it’s credited back to participants’ accounts?

G18. What happens when a participant leaves the plan prior to receiving their rebate?

Excessive Trading / Trade Errors / Short Term Redemption Fees (“STRFs”) (10 pts)

G19. Describe the process for correcting trade errors?

G20. Describe how your platform notifies a participant when a trade is being placed that a redemption fee will apply? Is any other information provided to participants about redemption fee transactions? (Yes/No)

G21. Does your system flag equity wash rule violations? (Yes/No) If so, can it accommodate a waiver for funds utilized in a custom portfolio?

H. Trust / Custody Services (50 points maximum)

H1. For the Trust/Custody services you propose, what is the name of the provider, the total number of years that they have been in operation, and the assets under custody, as of December 31, 2021:

a. How long have you been working with this company? If under three (3) years, please describe the circumstances around your decision to change custody providers.

b. Are there any restrictions by investment type that pertain to your custodial services? (Yes/No) If yes, what?

H2. Confirm that you will custody outside investment funds, including the County’s current target date funds and potential stable value or fixed account.

H3. Will the County be required to execute a separate custodial agreement with your custodial trustee or will the custodial trustee services be part of the contract with the County?

I. Quote for Annual Recordkeeping Fee (120 points maximum)

Proposers should base pricing on demographics listed in the plan information tables in the “Background” section and should incorporate all…