Pierce Transit is seeking a third party administrator to assist the Agency in managing a flexible spending account program as allowed by Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Pierce Transit is a Washington State municipal corporation organized under RCW36-57A, Public Transportation Benefit Areas with 850 employees and has a responsibility for providing public transit and specialized (SHUTTLE) transportation services in Tacoma and specified areas throughout Pierce County. The Agency’s administrative offices are located at 3701 96th Street SW, P0 Box 99070, Lakewood, WA 98499-0070.

SCOPE OF WORK
Pierce Transit requests the services of a third party administrator to manage a flexible spending account program for employees. The selected contractor will be responsible for providing assistance to Pierce Transit staff in two phases.

The first phase will include providing assistance with development of an administrative manual, enrollment forms and educational materials specifically tailored to Pierce Transit payroll systems and forms.

The second phase will consist of implementing the flexible spending account program with a start date of January 1, 2004, and ongoing administration.

• This is to include at a minimum, claims processing, issuing checks, explanations of benefits for reimbursement accounts, quarterly and annual employer and employee reports and summary plan descriptions. The contractor will provide biweekly detailed summaries of monies deposited in the account and claims paid by, employee name, date and social security number, as well as claims turnover data (date claims, received versus date chick issued).
• Claims Turnaround Penalty – A 10% reduction in fees shall apply to the next monthly billing after sixty (6) consecutive days when the average turnaround for claims paid exceeds by 25% or more the negotiated average number of days for turnaround.
• Pierce Transit requires an annual audit of financial reports, payments and claims for our account, paid for by the successful contractor.

QUALIFICATIONS
Proposers must possess at the minimum the following qualifications:

• License to do business in Washington State.
• Five (5) years experience managing and administering flexible spending accounts.
• Thorough knowledge, expertise in applicable state and federal (IRS) rules, laws and regulations.
• Administration services have been provided to at least one employer group having in excess of 500 employees for a minimum of two (2) years.
• The ability to provide financial statements for the last three (3) years to demonstrate financial stability.
• The administrator shall assign an account representative as the primary contact and provide for a "backup" account executive.

TERM OF CONTRACT
The contract resulting from this request for proposals shall be for a three (3) year period with options to renew for two (2) additional one-year periods.