SI International gets call for federal retiree call center

SI International Inc. won a five-year, $18 million contract from the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board to provide a new call center and support services for a retirement plan for federal employees, the company said.

The new call center, to be located in Clintonwood, Va., will initially handle 30 percent of the call volume for the Thrift Savings Plan. It eventually will handle one-half of all phone traffic for the plan and will complement services provided by a call center in Cumberland, Md.

SI International's contract is for one year, with four one-year options.

The Thrift Savings Plan is a retirement savings program for federal civilian workers and members of the uniformed services, and is similar to 401(k) plans offered by private employers. It was created by the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986.

As of the end of May, the plan maintained assets totaling approximately $157 billion for more than 3.4 million participants.

Based in Reston, Va., SI International offers IT and network solutions primarily to the federal government. The company employs about 3,700 people and had 2004 revenue of $262.3 million. It is No. 49 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list of federal prime contractors.