Description
Introduction The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) established Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) as a federal corporation to encourage the growth of defined benefit pension plans, provide timely and uninterrupted payment of pension benefits, and keep pension insurance premiums at a minimum. Defined benefit pension plans promise to pay a specified monthly benefit at retirement, commonly based on salary and years on the job. PBGC, a wholly owned United States Government Corporation, administers the insurance program and termination process for most private-sector defined benefit pension plans that are tax-qualified under the Internal Revenue Code. PBGC is headed by a Director who reports to a Board of Directors consisting of the Secretaries of Labor, Commerce, and Treasury, with the Secretary of Labor as Chairman. General tax revenues do not fund PBGC. PBGC collects insurance premiums from employers that sponsor insured pension plans, earns money from investments and receives from the assets (if any) of the pension plans it takes over. As reported in the 2008 Annual Report, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) protects the pensions of 44 million workers and retirees in over 30,000 private defined benefit pension plans. PBGC administers two pension insurance programs, the single-employer program and the multiemployer program. The single-employer program protects about 33.8 million participants in 28,000 pension plans. Under this program, a company can voluntarily seek to terminate its plan using either a standard termination or a distress termination procedure. Additionally, PBGC may seek termination of a plan without the employer's consent to protect the interest of the plan participants of the plan or of PBGC. In addition to the single-employer program, about 10.1 million people are covered by about 1,500 multiemployer plans. PBGC must seek termination when a plan cannot pay current benefits. Ultimately, as a result of the termination of pension plans, PBGC pays benefits to participants and beneficiaries. Information about PBGC's goals and objectives can be found at: http://www.pbgc.gov/ The Benefits Administration and Payment Department led by the Chief Operating Officer, is responsible for the administration of PBGC's trusteed plans. The work of BAPD is carried out by eight (8) Trusteeship Processing Divisions (TPDs) and six (6) Support Divisions. In addition to the federal staff, the work of BAPD is also supported by a number of contractors. Successful performance for BAPD requires contractor and federal personnel to work as a collaborative team. Overview of Field Benefit Administration Services PBGC established the Field Benefit Administrator (FBA) concept in the late 1980's to handle the day-to day participant-related administration on its large plan terminations. Today, the FBAs serve a vital role in performing almost 100% of the participant administration for PBGCs trusteed plans. In order to maximize its resources, BAPD looks to the FBAs handle activities such as record gathering, database building, calculating estimated and final benefits and placing participants into pay status. The work of the FBA typically begins when a plan is recommended for termination by the PBGC. The FBA is responsible for the plan from trusteeship until a plan goes to Post Valuation Administration (formerly Ongoing Administration). In some instances, the FBA has also provided services during the PVA phase of processing. Typically the case processing cycle last on average from 2.5-3.5 years. Once the plan has gone through the Plan Closing Process, the plan is transferred to one of the two primary ongoing administration contractors. CURRENT ENVIRONMENT The FBAs are currently responsible for the administration for approximately 600,000 participants in 400 trusteed plans. The Agency cannot accurately predict the number of terminations each year as this is a direct by product of the overall economy. The contracting vehicle sought under the proposed solicitation will allow for the required flexibility to manage the fluctuations in the inventory due to either increased or decreased plan terminations. In addition, when a plan is trusteed by the PBGC the costs and effort associated with processing that plan from trusteeship through to the plan closing process can vary significantly due to factors such as plan size, complexity, availability of data, etc. FBA offices currently provides the same range of services in support of BAPD's mission, the size and structure of the FBA office varies due to different inventory levels of plans and participants the office manages. Under the current labor-hour contracts, the FBAs utilize a combination of the following labor categories to deliver services: Project Manager, Assistant Project Manager, Benefits Supervisor, Benefits Team Leader, Personnel Manager, Office Support Supervisor, Lan/Wan Administrator, Systems Technical Support, Senior Pension Administrator, Junior Pension Administrator, Entry Level Pension Administrator, Auditor, Administrative Assistant, Receptionist, and Image Scanner. DESIRED OUTCOME BAPD's desired outcome for the upcoming solicitation is provide responsive, timely and accurate services to PBGC's plan participants responsibly. BAPD must ensure that the FBAs contractor has the ability to ramp up quickly in the event of increased plan terminations and also contract when the work volume is no longer there. PBGC intends to submit six (6) separate solicitations covering existing FBA offices in the following geographical areas: Wilmington, Delaware; Pueblo, Colorado; Coraopolis, Pennsylvania; Atlanta, Georgia; Sarasota, Florida and Miami, Florida. Under the FBA structure, PBGC provides all the required equipment, facilities and systems for the FBAs to operate. If an offeror proposes for more than one office, the offeror must propose a different set of key personnel for each office. PBGC intends to post the soliciations covering the existing FBA offices on about the following dates: Wilmington, DE and Pueblo, CO - May 15, 2009 Sarasota, FL and Atlanta, GA - May 20, 2009 Miami, FL and Coraopolis, PA - May 29, 2009 Refer to Request for Information (RFI) dated February 24, 2009