GJ26-135 BESD Third-Party Administration of 403(b) and 457 Employee Portfolios BESD-005-04012026

Box Elder School District (BESD) is seeking a qualified third-party administrator to manage its 403(b) retirement plan and Separation Pay Plan through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process under solicitation number BESD-005-04012026. The District currently serves approximately 94 active participants in its Core Contributory 403(b) plan with $5.14 million in total assets and 42 active participants in the Separation Pay Plan with approximately $977,493 in assets. The selected vendor must provide comprehensive administration services including employee contribution processing, recordkeeping, compliance management, investment management, and participant education across both plans. Mandatory minimum qualifications require vendors to demonstrate more than seven years of experience administering K-12 403(b) plans with at least $15 billion in record-kept assets or 125,000 participants, provide salaried local representatives without investment-based compensation, offer Spanish-language support, and be willing to address legacy provider surrender charges. The evaluation will employ a weighted scoring methodology allocating 100 points across firm qualifications (20 points), administrative and recordkeeping capabilities (25 points), participant services and investment platform (20 points), transition and implementation strategy (15 points), fees and cost structure (10 points), and oral presentations if conducted (10 points). Questions must be submitted by April 22, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. MT via the U3P platform, and complete proposals are due by May 1, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. MT. The resulting contract will be awarded for a five-year initial term with two one-year renewal options, and all pricing must be guaranteed for the entire five-year contract period.

The solicitation documents do not specify set-asides or restrictions limiting responses to particular business classifications or disadvantaged enterprise categories. There is no identified incumbent vendor listed in the procurement materials, though BESD currently manages assets across multiple legacy providers that the selected vendor will need to consolidate and transition. The RFP requires integration with the District's existing infrastructure and the ability to manage the transition of legacy accounts while potentially addressing surrender charges associated with moving assets from current providers. Award will be announced on the next business day following the evaluation committee's final determination. While specific contract values are not disclosed in the solicitation materials, historical data indicates annual contributions have averaged $115,710 for the 403(b) plan and $89,015 for the Separation Pay Plan over the past five years, providing prospective vendors with baseline cost expectations for budget planning purposes.