OPM releases draft RFP for new benefits system

The Office of Personnel Management has issued a draft request for proposals for a defined-benefits system that will give federal employees and retirees access to their government retirement account information.

The system also will make the transition from employment to retirement seamless, according to the draft RFP. OPM is replacing many legacy systems with the new one, according to the agency.

The defined-benefits system is part of OPM's Retirement Systems Modernization e-government initiative. It will support the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees Retirement System. The two programs cover more than 5 million employees and retirees. OPM's current operations do not meet its goals for speed, accuracy, customer satisfaction and productivity, the draft RFP said.

OPM said it will consider making a single award or multiple awards, in which case the retirement accounts would be divided among those vendors. Bidders need to operate under the North American Industry Classification System code for data processing, hosting and related services: 518210.

OPM wants a system that will perform OPM's claims processing, recordkeeping and annuity payroll processing functions. The system will also support OPM's retirement program customer service, handling activities such as reconsideration requests, overpayment recovery and support for customer service representatives in OPM call centers. It also will support written communications and self-service customer service, such as address changes.

The draft RFP was published July 27 at www.fedbizopps.gov. OPM said it expects to issue the final solicitation by Aug. 23. Proposals will be due Sept. 10, with an award expected Dec. 16, OPM said.

The acquisition will be made using full and open competition and awarded on best value. The contract could last as long as 10 years.

The system will be hosted the winning contractor, "reducing the risk we face with a large information technology implementation to modernize OPM's retirement systems," the synopsis said. The system must adhere to industry standard service levels, and cannot require OPM to add staff to operate it, the synopsis said.