HomeMy WebLinkAbout495419 INSIGHT EMPLOYEE BENEFITS COMMUNICATIONS - CONTRACT - RFP - 7286 PENSION ADMINISTRATOR REVIEW AND BENCHMARKINGPROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT made and entered into the day and year set forth below, by and
between THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COLORADO, a Municipal Corporation a Municipal
Corporation acting on behalf of the Poudre Fire Authority (PFA), hereinafter referred to as the
"City" and Insight Employee Benefit Communications, hereinafter referred to as "Professional'.
WITNESSETH:
In consideration of the mutual covenants and obligations herein expressed, it is agreed
by and between the parties hereto as follows:
1. Scope of Services. The Professional agrees to provide services in accordance
with the scope of services attached hereto as Exhibit "A", consisting of four (4) pages, and
incorporated herein by this reference.
2. Contract Period. The services to be performed pursuant to this Agreement
shall be initiated within five (5) days following execution of this Agreement. Services shall be
completed no later than January 31, 2012. Time is of the essence. Any extensions of the time
limit set forth above must be agreed upon in writing by the parties hereto.
3. Early Termination by City. Notwithstanding the time periods contained herein,
the City may terminate this Agreement at any time without cause by providing written notice of
termination to the Professional. Such notice shall be delivered at least fifteen (15) days prior to
the termination date contained in said notice unless otherwise agreed in writing by the parties.
All notices provided under this Agreement shall be effective when mailed, postage prepaid and
sent to the following addresses:
Professional: City: With Copy to:
Insight Employee Benefit Communications City of Fort Collins City of Fort Collins
Attn: Rick Rodgers Attn: Guy Boyd Purchasing Dept
4643 S. Ulster Street, Suite 800 PO Box 580 PO Box 580
Denver, CO 80237 Fort Collins, CO 80522 Fort Collins, CO 80522
In the event of any such early termination by the City, the Professional shall be paid for services
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for pre -retirement counseling and guidance. Professional has a distinct advantage in
this area as a result of decades of experience working with individual participants and
observing the evolution of defined contribution plans. Such experience provides
Professional with a unique ability to examine and evaluate education and counseling
programs offered to assist participants with the vast array of options and considerations
bestowed upon them upon retirement. Professional will utilize its hands-on knowledge
and expertise to conduct a qualitative evaluation of present practices compared to other
effective available options.
13. Revenue sharing:
As fiduciary experts Professional understands that any compensation generated via
revenue sharing is indeed an asset of the plan(s). While many providers may attempt to
use such income to disguise total plan fees by representing they are "giving" you
revenue sharing income to offset administrative fees, Professional understands such
income actually belongs to the trust, and the Trustees have an obligation to possess
knowledge and document the distribution of the same. Professional's analysis will
contain an all-inclusive report of any such revenue sharing and allocation of such
income.
14. Retirement financial planning services to plan participants:
Professional will conduct an analysis of financial planning services currently offered to
plan participants and the effectiveness of such programs. Additionally, Professional will
compare such services, and fees allocated for the same, to comparable services and
fees offered by other industry providers.
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EXHIBIT "B"
CONFIDENTIALITY
IN CONNECTION WITH SERVICES provided to the City of Fort Collins (the "City") pursuant to
this Agreement (the "Agreement"), the Professional hereby acknowledges that it has been
informed that the City has established policies and procedures with regard to the handling of
confidential information and other sensitive materials.
In consideration of access to certain information, data and material (hereinafter individually and
collectively, regardless of nature, referred to as "information") that are the property of and/or
relate to the City or its employees, customers or suppliers, which access is related to the
performance of services that the Professional has agreed to perform, the Professional hereby
acknowledges and agrees as follows:
That information that has or will come into its possession or knowledge in connection with the
performance of services for the City may be confidential and/or proprietary. The Professional
agrees to treat as confidential (a) all information that is owned by the City, or that relates to the
business of the City , or that is used by the City in carrying on business, and (b) all information
that is proprietary to a third party (including but not limited to customers and suppliers of the
City) . The Professional shall not disclose any such information to any person not having a
legitimate need -to -know for purposes authorized by the City. Further, the Professional shall not
use such information to obtain any economic or other benefit for itself, or any third party, except
as specifically authorized by the City.
The foregoing to the contrary notwithstanding, the Professional understands that it shall have no
obligation under this Agreement with respect to information and material that (a) becomes
generally known to the public by publication or some means other than a breach of duty of this
Agreement, or (b) is required by law, regulation or court order to be disclosed, provided that the
request for such disclosure is proper and the disclosure does not exceed that which is required.
In the event of any disclosure under (b) above, the Professional shall furnish a copy of this
Agreement to anyone to whom it is required to make such disclosure and shall promptly advise
the City in writing of each such disclosure.
In the event that the Professional ceases to perform services for the City, or the City so requests
for any reason, the Professional shall promptly return to the City any and all information
described hereinabove, including all copies, notes and/or summaries (handwritten or
mechanically produced) thereof, in its possession or control or as to which it otherwise has
access.
The Professional understands and agrees that the City's remedies at law for a breach of the
Professional's obligations under this Confidentiality Agreement may be inadequate and that the
City shall, in the event of any such breach, be entitled to seek equitable relief (including without
limitation preliminary and permanent injunctive relief and specific performance) in addition to all
other remedies provided hereunder or available at law.
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rendered prior to the date of termination, subject only to the satisfactory performance of the
Professional's obligations under this Agreement. Such payment shall be the Professional's sole
right and remedy for such termination.
4. Design Protect Indemnity and Insurance Responsibility. The Professional shall
be responsible for the professional quality, technical accuracy, timely completion and the
coordination of all services rendered by the Professional, including but not limited to designs,
plans, reports, specifications, and drawings and shall, without additional compensation,
promptly remedy and correct any errors, omissions, or other deficiencies. The Professional
shall indemnify, save and hold harmless the City, its officers and employees in accordance with
Colorado law, from all damages whatsoever claimed by third parties against the City; and for the
City's costs and reasonable attorneys fees, arising directly or indirectly out of the Professional's
negligent performance of any of the services furnished under this Agreement. The Professional
shall maintain commercial general liability insurance in the amount of $500,000 combined single
limits and errors and omissions insurance in the amount of $N/A Optional: according to the
Insurance Requirements attached hereto as Exhibit" ", consisting of one (1) page.
5. Compensation. In consideration of the services to be performed pursuant to
this Agreement, the City agrees to pay Professional a fixed fee in the amount of Seventeen
Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($17,500). Monthly partial payments based upon the
Professional's billings and itemized statements are permissible. The amounts of all such partial
payments shall be based upon the Professional's City -verified progress in completing the
services to be performed pursuant hereto and upon the City's approval of the Professional's
actual reimbursable expenses. Final payment shall be made following acceptance of the work
by the City. Upon final payment, all designs, plans, reports, specifications, drawings, and other
services rendered by the Professional shall become the sole property of the City.
G. City Representative. The City will designate, prior to commencement of work, its
project representative who shall make, within the scope of his or her authority, all necessary and
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proper decisions with reference to the project. All requests for contract interpretations, change
orders, and other clarification or instruction shall be directed to the City Representative.
7. Monthly Report. Commencing thirty (30) days after the date of execution of this
Agreement and every thirty (30) days thereafter, Professional is required to provide the City
Representative with a written report of the status of the work with respect to the Scope of
Services, Work Schedule, and other material information. Failure to provide any required
monthly report may, at the option of the City, suspend the processing of any partial payment
request.
8. Independent Contractor. The services to be performed by Professional are those
of an independent contractor and not of an employee of the City of Fort Collins. The City shall
not be responsible for withholding any portion of Professional's compensation hereunder for the
payment of FICA, Workers' Compensation, other taxes or benefits or for any other purpose.
9. Personal Services. It is understood that the City enters into this Agreement
based on the special abilities of the Professional and that this Agreement shall be considered as
an agreement for personal services. Accordingly, the Professional shall neither assign any
responsibilities nor delegate any duties arising under this Agreement without the prior written
consent of the City.
10. Acceptance Not Waiver. The City's approval of drawings, designs, plans,
specifications, reports, and incidental work or materials furnished hereunder shall not in any way
relieve the Professional of responsibility for the quality or technical accuracy of the work. The
City's approval or acceptance of, or payment for, any of the services shall not be construed to
operate as a waiver of any rights or benefits provided to the City under this Agreement.
11. Default. Each and every term and condition hereof shall be deemed to be a
material element of this Agreement. In the event either party should fail or refuse to perform
according to the terms of this agreement, such party may be declared in default.
12. Remedies. In the event a party has been declared in default, such defaulting
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party shall be allowed a period of ten (10) days within which to cure said default. In the event
the default remains uncorrected, the party declaring default may elect to (a) terminate the
Agreement and seek damages; (b) treat the Agreement as continuing and require specific
performance; or (c) avail himself of any other remedy at law or equity. If the non -defaulting
party commences legal or equitable actions against the defaulting party, the defaulting party
shall be liable to the non -defaulting party for the non -defaulting party's reasonable attorney fees
and costs incurred because of the default.
13. Binding Effect. This writing, together with the exhibits hereto, constitutes the
entire agreement between the parties and shall be binding upon said parties, their officers,
employees, agents and assigns and shall inure to the benefit of the respective survivors, heirs,
personal representatives, successors and assigns of said parties.
14. Law/Severability. The laws of the State of Colorado shall govern the
construction, interpretation, execution and enforcement of this Agreement. In the event any
provision of this Agreement shall be held invalid or unenforceable by any court of competent
jurisdiction, such holding shall not invalidate or render unenforceable any other provision of this
Agreement.
17. Prohibition Against Emplovino Illegal Aliens. Pursuant to Section 8-17.5-101,
C.R.S., et. seq., Professional represents and agrees that:
a. As of the date of this Agreement:
1. Professional does not knowingly employ or contract with an illegal alien
who will perform work under this Agreement; and
2. Professional will participate in either the e-Verify program created in
Public Law 208, 104th Congress, as amended, and expanded in Public Law 156,
108th Congress, as amended, administered by the United States Department of
Homeland Security (the "e-Verify Program") or the Department Program (the
"Department Program"), an employment verification program established
pursuant to Section 8-17.5-102(5)(c) C.R.S. in order to confirm the employment
eligibility of all newly hired employees to perform work under this Agreement.
b. Professional shall not knowingly employ or contract with an illegal alien to
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perform work under this Agreement or knowingly enter into a contract with a
subcontractor that knowingly employs or contracts with an illegal alien to perform work
under this Agreement.
C. Professional is prohibited from using the e-Verify Program or Department
Program procedures to undertake pre -employment screening of job applicants while this
Agreement is being performed.
d. If Professional obtains actual knowledge that a subcontractor performing work
under this Agreement knowingly employs or contracts with an illegal alien, Professional
shall:
1. Notify such subcontractor and the City within three days that Professional
has actual knowledge that the subcontractor is employing or contracting with an
illegal alien; and
2. Terminate the subcontract with the subcontractor if within three days of
receiving the notice required pursuant to this section the subcontractor does not
cease employing or contracting with the illegal alien; except that Professional
shall not terminate the contract with the subcontractor if during such three days
the subcontractor provides information to establish that the subcontractor has not
knowingly employed or contracted with an illegal alien.
e. Professional shall comply with any reasonable request by the Colorado
Department of Labor and Employment (the "Department") made in the course of an
investigation that the Department undertakes or is undertaking pursuant to the authority
established in Subsection 8.17.5-102 (5), C.R.S.
f. If Professional violates any provision of this Agreement pertaining to the duties
imposed by Subsection 8-17.5-102, C.R.S. the City may terminate this Agreement. If this
Agreement is so terminated, Professional shall be liable for actual and consequential
damages to the City arising out of Professional's violation of Subsection 8-17.5-102,
C.R.S.
g. The City will notify the Office of the Secretary of State if Professional violates this
provision of this Agreement and the City terminates the Agreement for such breach.
18. Special Provisions. Special provisions or conditions relating to the services to be
performed pursuant to this Agreement are set forth in Exhibit "B", consisting of one (1) page,
attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference.
Standard Professional Services Agreement- rev03/10
POUDRE FIRE AUTHORITY
By:
Guy Boyd
Adminis%tra i/ve Service Director
DATE: �/ — / 7 — / /
ATTEST:
THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COLORADO
BY:_��--
Jam s B. O'Neill II, CPPO, FNIGP
Director of Purchasing & Risk
Management
DATE:
Insight Employee Benefit Communications
By: t/ -� °� I� Ci41CLJ 71 lwl C7�i�5
Title: MA1(,zr&-
CORPORATE PRESIDENT OR VICE PRESIDENT
Date: -J( lb /&//
(Corporate Seal)
Corporate Secretary
Standard Professional Services Agreement- rev03/10
EXHIBIT A
SCOPE OF SERVICES
Professional's approach to assisting investment stewards (fiduciaries) with the management of
their fiduciary responsibilities begins with an understanding of such responsibilities and its
demonstrated ability to implement a structured prudent process. Furthermore, Professional
recognizes regulatory authorities permit and encourage Trustees to delegate many of the tasks
involved with the administration of a retirement plan to prudent experts. While Trustees may
delegate certain tasks, they cannot abdicate their fiduciary responsibilities to such experts.
Fiduciaries are required to act in the best interest of plan participants and ensure expenses
authorized by Trustees, payable from trust assets, are reasonable and justifiable. In order to
meet such requirements, Trustees should maintain a formal monitoring process that includes
periodic benchmarking and a review of due diligence practices. Thes RFP for Benchmarking
Services demonstrates Poudre Fire Authority's (PFA) understanding of these requirements.
The selection of professionals to assist with such project is paramount in ensuring this important
fiduciary duty is executed in a fashion consistent with the Global Fiduciary Standard of
Excellence. Ultimately, PFA's objective is to document a formal due diligence process that
measures the fees, expenses and services contained under PFA's current arrangement
compared to industry benchmarks in numerous areas. Ultimately, performance of PFA's
fiduciary duties will be measured based upon the process utilized to produce this work product.
The benchmarking process encompasses both quantitative and qualitative analysis, which will
be described below when addressing Professional's approach to benchmarking each of the
various services contained in the Benchmarking RFP. Additionally, the cornerstone of a
benchmarking project is all about process. Professional utilizes a disciplined process containing
22 practices that define the Global Fiduciary Standard of Excellence. These formalized
practices, created by Fi360 and the Center for Fiduciary Studies, represent contemporary
defined standards that are substantiated by legislation, case law, and regulatory opinion letters
from: Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA), Uniform Prudent
Investors Act (UPIA), Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and Uniform
Management of Public Employee Retirement Systems Act (MPERS). These ethical and
procedural standards are the foundation of the work product Professional will provide in PFA's
benchmarking project.
1. Record -keeping and Administration:
The majority of this evaluation involves quantitative analysis because the primary
consideration is that of fees and expenses for same or similar services relative to
benchmarks of plans with similar specifications and characteristics. However, a limited
degree of qualitative analysis shall be included to assess certain criteria. Such
qualitative analysis shall include researching the type and quality of available reporting,
along with determining backup and redundancy systems and practices. This shall
include disaster recovery programs and alternate -site services to maintain plan sponsor
and participant services.
Quantitative analysis includes data obtained from independent sources, including but not
limited to, Fiduciary Benchmarks, Morningstar, and Fi360. These companies provide
data and reports that allow us to compare fees and other measures of PFA's plan to a
benchmark created from data collected from similar plans. As part of Professional's
report you will receive an independent analysis conducted by Fiduciary Benchmarks,
which is included in its fee described below. Professional has attached a sample report
to this proposal.
Standard Professional Services Agreement- rev03l10
2. Regulatory services including an overview of compliance with all relevant IRS,
DOL and State of Colorado regulations:
Professional is not a law firm, and, therefore, is not qualified to provide an independent
assessment of compliance with the federal regulations and statutory provisions under
which PFA's plan is governed. Professional's role as PFA's benchmarking expert, as it
relates to regulatory compliance, is to conduct an interview with plan counsel to
determine and document the body of law that defines PFA's fiduciary responsibilities
(UPMIFA, MPERS, ERISA, other), and to determine if there are any provisions that may
impact the investment or administrative process. Professional's final report will include
documentation of such interview.
3. Participant loan management:
Much like record -keeping and administration, the majority of this analysis involves
quantitative measures of fees, utilization by participants and evaluating service
standards. Loan applications, instructions and procedures shall also be evaluated.
Additionally, an evaluation will be conducted to determine the level, if any, of abusive
loan practices on part of the participants.
4. Reporting capabilities including individual participant statements and overall plan
performance:
This evaluation will entail a greater level of qualitative analysis, and shall rely largely
upon the practical, hands-on experience of the Professional's employees conducting
such analysis. Professional's experience in working with multiple plan sponsors, utilizing
multiple providers, to gather data and report for performance measurement purposes will
be a valuable component of this evaluation.
5. Quality of internet site and participant access:
This is another area in which qualitative analysis and countless hours of hands-on
experience with multiple platforms will prove to be an invaluable asset. The quality of
the web site and participants' experience using the same is an important component of
the ongoing participant education process and an important driver in participant
satisfaction. It's impossible to measure the participant experience and overall
satisfaction with a quantitative approach. The features and functionality of PFA's current
web site will be measured against Professional's in-house professionals' experience and
knowledge of other provider sites.
6. Quality of voice call centers:
Professional conduct an interview with plan representatives to determine the types of
services and information provided via call centers, along with gathering information
regarding call center metrics concerning average wait time, average call handle time,
and participant satisfaction. Additionally, Professional will place calls to the center to
determine the call handling structure and level of difficulty required to reach a
representative versus prompts for self-service.
Communication and education programs:
This component is the cornerstone of the success of PFA's plan because these
programs drive the overall success of participant outcomes. This is also an area in
which Professional possesses superior knowledge and expertise. Ultimately,
performance in a 401(a) money purchase pension plan will be measured by quantitative
analysis of investment allocation and management behavior of the participants.
Standard Professional Services Agreement rev03/10
Additionally, Professional will collect information concerning the content, methodology,
accountability, and other standards. Professional will compare current education and
communications practices to other available options.
8. Capabilities of hardware and software systems to administer the plans:
The vast majority of retirement plan record -keeping systems use software distributed by
Sunguard, Inc. The two most common products are Relius and Omni -Plus. Both offer
out -of -the -box (standard) versions, and, both are highly customizable with the capability
of offering more robust processing, reporting, and web tools. The Professional's staff
assigned to this project has considerable experience with all of the aforementioned
versions and a deep understanding of the capabilities of each. In the event PFA's
provider is using a highly -customized version of Sungard software, Professional is aware
(from experience) that many Sunguard-issued upgrades to the base platform cause
problems with customized features. In this case, Professional would conduct additional
research to determine the ability of on -site staff or contractors to rectify such issues.
Additionally, Professional will collect information concerning backup and redundancy
capabilities and procedures as described above (item 1).
9. Type of investment vehicles offered. Including quality control and oversight of
investments, including but not limited to, plan sponsor's investment policy:
Professional will examine the Investment Policy Statement (IPS) and compare the terms
of such document to the funds offered through specified asset classes to verify
compliance. Additionally, Professional will review standard and custom benchmarks (if
any) utilized to measure performance relative to peer -groups, risk -based performance,
and conduct a due diligence analysis. Professional will provide a comprehensive
Monitoring Report, which provides extensive information concerning the performance
and fiduciary scores of investments contained in the plan compared to relative peer
groups. Professional has included a sample copy of the Monitoring Report with this
proposal. In addition to the Monitoring Report, Professional will collect data from
Fiduciary Benchmarks concerning fees and performance of the plan's underlying
investment options.
10. Trustee services including a comparative analysis of trustee services provided
compared to industry recognized best practices:
This analysis shall include a review of the current trust document and an analysis of
reporting and execution services, along with a fee analysis benchmarked to other similar
plans. Such analysis shall also include an examination of trading policies ensuring best
execution and avoidance of any self -dealing activities.
11. Detailed breakdown and evaluation of all expenses and fees related to plan
administration:
This component of Professional's analysis is purely quantitative, and, therefore, relies
upon data provided through aforementioned independent sources. The fee and expense
evaluation shall consider each and every fee associated with administration of these
plans, including but not limited to, record -keeping, trust & custody, participant education,
investment management, legal, trading & execution, plan administration, and auditing.
12. Benefit payout counseling:
This is, by far, one of the most overlooked, critical services provided to plan participants.
Industry professionals with years of experience working directly with participants, rather
than looking in from the outside, likely possess a much greater awareness of the need
Standard Professional Services Agreement- rev03l10