Pension Administration Benchmarking Services

The Florida Department of Management Services is posting notice of its intent to enter into a single-source contract with CEM Benchmarking, Inc. for pension administration benchmarking services, with prospective vendor information due by October 5, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. ET. This is a sole-source procurement under Florida Statutes sections 120.57(3) and 287.057(3); the Department will post a final decision notice only if it determines in writing that services are available from a single source after reviewing any submitted vendor information.

The Division of Retirement within the Department of Management Services is the requestor. The scope encompasses benchmarking services for the Florida Retirement System, one of the largest state retirement systems in the United States with more than 1.2 million members and $212.6 billion in assets. CEM Benchmarking has been identified as the sole provider capable of delivering the required services due to its proprietary service score model that evaluates over 700 data points, providing standardized peer-group comparisons and integrated cost benchmarking analysis. CEM's longitudinal database contains nearly 30 years of historical data contributed directly by institutional plan sponsors; the Department states the vendor is uniquely positioned in the industry with no known competitors collecting data at comparable granularity levels or enforcing equivalent data validation processes.

The estimated contract value is $189,000 over a three-year term effective upon issuance of the first purchase order. The service classification is UNSPSC 84111501 (Cost Accounting/Benchmarking Services). Inquiries regarding the procurement should be directed to Araceli Serna at araceli.serna@dms.fl.gov or 850-414-7529.