RFP 2025-005 Employee Benefits Broker

The City of Burleson, located in Tarrant County, Texas, is seeking proposals for an Employee Benefits Broker through RFP 2025-005 to provide comprehensive consulting and brokerage services for its self-funded employee benefits program. The procurement targets a vendor to manage benefits for 440 full-time employees and 30 retirees, encompassing medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability, pharmacy, COBRA administration, and voluntary benefit programs. The selected broker will be responsible for program design, strategic planning, claims analysis, renewal negotiations, compliance support, and comprehensive reporting. Proposals are due on August 14, 2025, at 2:00 PM CDT, with projected interviews scheduled for the week of August 18, 2025. The evaluation will be based on qualifications and team experience (40 points), methodology (25 points), rates and fees (25 points), and references (10 points), with an optional interview potentially adding 10 more points. The initial contract term will run from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026, with potential annual renewals at an agreed-upon fixed rate.

The current benefits are primarily provided by United Healthcare (medical, dental, pharmacy), with other providers including Symetra (life and disability insurance), HSA Bank, and Flores (COBRA and flexible spending administration). No specific set-aside designations or restrictions for disadvantaged enterprises were explicitly mentioned in the procurement documents. The city's current stop-loss insurance is provided by Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company, with a specific benefit deductible of $125,000 per individual and an aggregate benefit maximum of $2,000,000. The financial context includes a 5% increase in medical and dental premiums for 2026 and a Net OPEB Liability of $4,541,981 as of September 30, 2024. While a precise budget range is not specified, the comprehensive nature of the benefits program and the city's detailed financial reporting suggest a substantial investment in employee benefits. The city expects the broker to help manage costs, provide innovative solutions, and support the ongoing professional development of the benefits management staff.