Actuarial Services For Non-Certificated Employees Retirement Plan (NCERP)

St. Louis Community College's Department of Purchasing is procuring actuarial services for the Non-Certificated Employees Retirement Plan (NCERP), a defined benefit retirement plan established in 1969 covering non-certificated employees and not subject to ERISA. The selected firm will serve as the Plan's independent consulting actuary, providing comprehensive services including annual actuarial valuations and financial reporting, compliance with GASB requirements, assumption review and experience monitoring, governance and advisory support, data validation and integrity testing, and support for external auditors. The NCERP currently manages approximately $76 million in invested assets, serves approximately 700 active contributing participants and 280 retirees receiving monthly benefits, and processes annual contributions of approximately $1.2 million and annual benefit payments of approximately $3.4 million. Proposed firms must possess expertise in defined benefit pension plans and demonstrate internal controls, professional standards, and separation of duties ensuring independence of actuarial opinions from administrative services; they must maintain Professional Liability insurance ($1,000,000 per occurrence/$3,000,000 annual aggregate) and Cyber Risk/Data Loss coverage ($1,000,000 per occurrence/$3,000,000 annual aggregate). The RFP evaluation criteria are expertise of firm and team members (30%), cost/finance/pricing model (30%), and meeting desired qualifications (40%). Vendors must submit proposals through the Bonfire platform at https://stlcc.bonfirehub.com, with questions due March 6, 2026, proposals due March 13, 2026, and evaluation completion targeted for March 20, 2026; the contract period is three years with subsequent award and implementation dates to be determined.

The procurement includes compliance certifications and restrictions applicable to all responding vendors. All contractors must execute an affidavit confirming authorization to conduct business in Missouri and compliance with state employment verification requirements, including mandatory E-Verify enrollment and maintenance for all employees hired after enrollment; the affidavit must be notarized in Missouri. Additionally, all firms with ten or more employees and contracts with a total potential value of $100,000 or greater must provide written certification that they do not boycott Israel and will not do so during the contract term, in accordance with Missouri's Anti-Discrimination Against Israel Act (SCS/SB 739), effective July 13, 2020. The College's current incumbent actuarial services provider is Willis Towers Watson US LLC, which prepared the 2025 Actuarial Valuation Report demonstrating the plan's funded status at 109% with an actuarial present value of accumulated benefits of $66,390,830 as of July 1, 2025. The College is a tax-exempt public institution and will issue payment within 30 days of invoice receipt via electronic means. While specific award values or budget ranges are not explicitly stated in the procurement documents, the actuarial services scope suggests a multi-year engagement of substantial value given the plan's size, complexity, and annual contribution and benefit payment volumes.