RSS
April 29, 2019
Q) Who is the new payroll provider they are moving to?
A) Ultimate.
Q) Do they have sufficient resources to work on the payroll conversion at the same time as converting retirement plan vendors?
A) Yes.
Q) Can you provide more detail on the Fixed account. Whose fixed product is this? Will we need to shadow recordkeep or will the vendor provide us with a selling agreement?
A) See Addendum Forum dated April 26, 2019.
Q) Can we get a copy of the plan doc or SPD?
A) This information will not be provided at this time.
Q) There are 245 outstanding loans. What type of loans are these? How are they repaid? Can we get a copy of the promissory note associated with the loans? Do you want the new provider to take over these loans?
A) More information will be provided to finalists.
Q) What is the rationale for not signing the contract until after the go live date?
A) The go live date is anticipated to follow contract execution.
Q) Are there any other plan types for the employees?
A) They are IMRF eligible for pension.
Q) Are all assets mappable? If not, what are the encumbrances of non-mapppable assets?
A) The majority of assets are mappable, the Fixed Account has MVA or 5 year out and will require a custom solution.
Q) What are annual contributions (excluding rollovers)?
A) See Addendum Forum post dated April 17, 2019.
Q) What are unique total and active participants in each plan?
A) See page 11 of the RFP.
Q) How many remittances per year?
A) See page 11 for payroll frequency.
April 26, 2019
Q) Could you please provide MVA details on the fixed account assets? Also, we understand that Nationwide’s typical fixed account termination provision is a 5-year crawl. Please confirm and then also confirm terms related to the Morley Stable Value Retirement Fund?
A) Yes, Nationwide fixed account has a 5 year out or a significant MVA upon any conversion, details will be provided to finalists. Please see question #12, #74 and #77 to provide your solutions.
Morley Stable Value CUSIP is 36643104
Q) What is the preferred date for transfer of assets?
A) Final County Board approval to be submitted August 13, 2019. Asset transfer date TBD, approximately 90 days following final approval.
Q) Please provide the current service agreements with current provider.
A) This information will not be provided at this time.
Q) What are the fees for the plan today with current provider? A)The current pricing arrangement is a fixed asset charge. Please provide fixed asset charge as well as per head pricing as indicated in the RFP.
Q) Please indicate if any of the revenue produced by the fund line-up is kept by the recordkeeper or returned to the plan and or the participants. A) Excess revenue above fixed asset charge is returned to the Plan and or participants. We anticipate changes in investments and/or share classes to be incorporated at conversion.
Q) Please provide a list of any ancillary fees that are currently being charged to the plan and or its participants. i.e) QDRO’s, financial advice, etc. A) This information will not be provided at this time, please provide ancillary fee amounts required by your firm, in question #82 as well as any limitations on providing the services.
Q) Does the plan currently have managed account programs with current provider? If so, please provide the total assets in those programs today. A) Yes, ~$24mm in assets with 392 participants.
Q) Please provide a sample of the current contribution file feed that the plan uses today. Please provide data definitions as well as field level definitions for the file. A) This information will not be provided at this time.
Q) Please provide the current plan document. A) This information will not be provided at this time.
Q) Can you please provide the County’s Info Security Policy and Privacy Standards or direct us to the appropriate area on the county’s website? A) This information is not needed at this time and upon award to the selected vendor any relevant Security and Privacy Standards will be shared with the vendor.
Q) The RFP requests various documents to be signed by authorized negotiators of our firm. Do these authorized negotiators need to be designated as officers of our firm to sign the requested documents? A) No, as long as the person designated can negotiate on behalf of the firm.
April 23, 2019
Q) Please provide identifiers/CUSIPS for the following securities: A) The equity portfolios will change in the case of a plan transition.
Q) Morley Stable Value Retirement Fund A) Morley is a collective trust product, more information will be provided in the next steps.
Q) Nationwide Fixed Account A) see below
Q) Nationwide Large Cap Growth Portfolio A) separately managed account
Q) Nationwide Multi-Manager NVIT Small Company Portfolio A) variable insurance product
Q) For all of the investments listed above: A) The investments will change in the case of a plan transition with the possible exception of the Fixed Account which is tied to the general account, and the Morley Stable Value, more information to be provided in next steps.
a. How are they traded and settled? NSCC? Manually via fax and wire?
b. Will daily prices or periodic rates be provided to the recordkeeper?
c. Will fund fact sheets be provided to the recordkeeper?
Q) Please provide details about your question about a blended stable value fund? Which funds would you want to blend? A) The fixed account has a 5 year out, please indicate how you would propose transitioning the fixed account and/or managing a blended account over the 5 year period.
Q) Please provide the most recent MVA information. A) Not currently available more information will be provided in the next steps.
April 17, 2019
Q) Will the requirements of Purchase Order and Payments (section 12 of General Terms and Conditions) apply to this opportunity? A) When applicable yes but given the unique nature of this particular procurement it is likely not to apply and any executed agreement with a vendor for these services will include the specific requirements that would apply.
Q) With respect to the County’s Economic Opportunity Program (section 29 of General Terms and Conditions), does the County have a specific L/W/MBE target or goal for this opportunity? A) No, Lake County does not have a specific L/W/MBE requirement as part of this procurement
Q) Total plan assets are noted as ~$150.3 million on page 11, but $148.4 million on page 13. Can the County explain the $1.9 million variance; are there additional plan assets not reflected in the current investment lineup shown on pages 12 and 13? A) The self -directed brokerage assets of $307,651 and loan assets of $1,640,956 are included in the total assets but not in the investment lineup.
Q) Is a ticker symbol available for the Morley Stable Value Retirement Fund, the Nationwide Large Cap Growth Portfolio and the Nationwide Multi-Manager NVIT Small Company Portfolio Investments? A) No ticker available – Morley is a CIT product and NVIT is an insurance fund offered under the current variable annuity contract and Nationwide Multi-Manager Small Company is a separately managed account.
Q) Are there any transfer restrictions and/or charges (deferred sales charges, market value adjustments) that will apply upon termination of the current provider's contract? If so, please describe and quantify. If a contract termination notification requirement applies, what date did the County provide such notice to its current provider? A) There will likely be a market value adjustment on the Fixed Account. Either party may terminate the agreement with 120 day notification under current service agreement.
Q) Please provide the total amount of contributions for plan years 2017 and 2016. Do contribution amounts include incoming rollovers and/or plan-to-plan transfers to the plan? A) 2016 Total Contributions $8.1mm including, $1.2mm in Rollovers-in and .9mm “other” (loan repayments/account splits/DROs etc.) 2017 Total Contributions $9.1mm including $1.5mm Roll in and $1.3mm “other”
Q) Please provide the total amount of distributions for plan years 2017 and 2016.
A) 2016 $6,522,094
2017 $8,171,447
Q) How many other County locations would onsite education services be required at? How far apart geographically are these sites? Would the days at these sites be in place of the dates at the County Building or in addition to? If in addition to, how many additional days would the County require? A) The current arrangement is every other Monday at both the County Building and one other location. Lake County’s preference is that that recommendations be included in the proposal as a recommendation by the vendor as to what would be best suited for Lake County.
Q) Does the plan include individual life insurance policies? If so, please identify the company that underwrites the policies and how many active, non-lapsed policies currently exist. A) Yes, there were 320 policies associated with this plan and 50 are currently active. Transamerica underwrites the policies, payments will need to be send bi-weekly.
Q) Are managed account services currently available under the plans? If yes, please provide the number of participants and amount of assets under the service.A) Yes, $24,085mm in assets as of 12/31/2018 with 392 participants.
Q) Besides English, what other languages is the County need for participant and sponsor materials to be provided in? A) Spanish.
Q) Does the plan include an automatic enrollment provision? If it does not, please confirm QDIA notices are not necessary. A) No, the plan does not auto enroll and does not currently provide QDIA notices.