Active SLED Opportunity · ARIZONA · CHANDLER UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
AI Summary
Chandler Unified School District seeks a Post-Retirement Deferred Compensation Plan Provider/Consultant to offer federal retirement plan options for employees upon retirement. The RFP includes detailed evaluation criteria and comprehensive submission requirements. Contract starts July 1, 2026.
Chandler Unified School District is seeking a Post-Retirement Deferred Compensation Plan Provider/Consultant with a mechanism whereby employees have a choice to participate in a federal retirement or deferred compensation plan as provided in 26 U.S.C. Sections 401(h), 401(a), 457 and/or 403(b) upon retirement without violating IRS constructive receipt issues.
Chandler Unified School District is the second largest school district in Arizona and the second largest employer in Chandler with approximately 5,130 employees. CUSD is committed to academic excellence, innovation, equal access to choice programs, quality learning for all, and fostering a supportive educational environment. CUSD is committed to continuous improvement and growth. CUSD's goals include meaningful, innovative learning experiences for every student, community engagement, innovative organizations and a culture where everyone thrives.
Resources to learn more about CUSD:
Chandler Unified School District No. 80 - Strategic Goals
Chandler Unified School District No. 80 - A Premier District of Choice
Chandler Unified School District No. 80 Rankings - Niche
Chandler Unified School District No. 80 - U.S. News Education
Cost of training and fee structure. If applicable, cost of necessary training materials, optional training materials, travel costs and/or other reimbursable costs.
Price or cost is a significant factor but not the most important factor.
Qualifications of the Offeror, financial and otherwise, to provide the School District with these services for the required period of time, provide appropriate staffing, provide necessary resources and show a history of demonstrated competence. Consideration of qualifications will include additional best value services, ability to address environmental needs or expertise offered that exceed the requirements, or the Offeror’s inability to meet some of the requirements of the specifications/scope of work. Provide documentation of professional memberships, certifications, and licenses.
Responsiveness of the proposal in clearly stating and understanding the scope of work, and in meeting the requirements of the RFP. District’s assessment of the Offeror’s abilities to meet and satisfy the needs of the District. Plans submitted must be clear and detailed with dates or timelines (if necessary) and who will be managing the transfer, performing the maintenance, or providing the training.
Past Performance in this District, along with any other information obtained by the School District from Offeror’s other clients, past or present, or from any other sources.
List your company's name and the year it was founded.
State your company's information as follows.
Provide your most recent ratings for each of the agencies listed below:
Introduce the key individuals of your company that will be assigned to the Chandler Unified School District account.
Include their:
Upload resumes of the key personnel from the company that will be working with the district.
Does your company have any representatives or staff based locally within Arizona? If so, would they be available to attend District Benefit Committee meetings when requested?
Provide a brief history of your company and its primary areas of expertise to provide the required services outlined in the Scope of Work.
Describe your company's experience in the marketing and service of tax-favored retirement plans including the total number of employers and participants you currently service, the number of public-school systems, any endorsements and national cases, etc.
Describe your company's capacity to manage multiple projects without compromising service quality for the district.
Disclose any SEC or any other regulatory violations or investigations that you or your company has incurred in the past 5 years.
Based on the size of our School District, what is your company's recommendation as to the number of full-time representatives that would be used to service this account?
Provide the phone number, website, and app (if available) participants will use to ask questions and obtain account information.
Describe the process a participant would use to change investment allocations, including all available access methods.
Describe the process a participant would use in accessing the following.
Describe your company's ability to provide on-site investment seminars during a plan year. Based on your experience, how many on-site seminars do you believe is ideal to offer annually?
Does your company require minimum participation in terms of participants or contributions? If yes, describe the requirements in detail.
How quickly can your company process distribution requests? Provide a timeline for each plan.
Can your company process distributions on an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) basis directly to participants?
Do participants have capabilities to manage and/or access their account online? If so, provide an overview of a participant’s online account management capabilities.
Provide an example of a participant statement.
Provide an example of the statement or report.
Does your company offer a master plan document? If yes, upload a copy.
Does your company's plan comply with all applicable federal tax laws, including, but not limited to, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA)?
If no, identify and describe any federal tax laws with which the plan does not comply.
Describe your company's capabilities in preparing plan documents, including who is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the document.
What fees are associated with the establishment and on-going maintenance of the documents?
Describe how investment management charges are assessed, if applicable. For example, are the fees paid separately from administrative services or are charges incorporated into the total expense?
Will your company hold the district harmless for any administrative errors caused by your company?
If no, describe any limitations, conditions, or exclusions to this obligation.
Explain how your company assists the district in determining a terminated participant's vested percentage. Include details on data requirements, timelines, verification methods, and communication processes.
Is your company able to provide all of the services as outlined in the Scope of Work?
If you answered no to the previous question, describe in detail which services your company will not be able to provide.
Describe how your company informs participants and beneficiaries about the payment process in the event of death. Explain what happens to the funds if no beneficiary has been designated, including whether it reverts to the district.
Does your company allow for roll-over of funds from your plan into another carrier program? Describe how rollovers are handled.
Describe any fees that were not included in the cost proposal form, such as, but not limited to, the following:
Describe any fee or charge (e.g., annuitization, application, processing, etc.). Also describe any peer check or similar charge.
Describe how plan participants elect a beneficiary and how payments are distributed to beneficiaries if the plan participant and their spouse are both deceased.
Describe any additional services not covered in the scope of work, and the costs associated with those services. Include any costs not mentioned in the cost proposal form.
What is the current guaranteed rate in your Fixed Fund?
At what frequency does your fixed rate change and how does that affect previous funds? Describe if the rate is subject to market value adjustment for early withdrawals.
Describe the variable investment options that are offered? Disclose the average annual return for each variable option for a 1-year, 3-year, 5- year, and 10-year period from the most recent month end.
Describe the conditions (limitations, restrictions, penalties, and charges) under which a participant my change allocation of contributions, and/or transfer existing account balances among funding vehicles offered by your company.
Do you offer a mutual fund platform that can be customized for our specific needs? If yes, describe what that looks like and what options might be available.
Provide sample trust documents designed to provide retirees who receive contributions on their behalf to the trust to receive qualified medical expenses reimbursed to them from the trust on a tax-free basis.
Provide sample 401(a) plan documents and latest IRS Volume Submitter Letter.
Provide sample 403(b) plan documents.
Provide sample 457 plan documents.
Provide a minimum of three (3) references from public school districts (preferably in Arizona or similar in size/demographics). Include the district name, contact person, title, telephone number, and email address.
As required by Proposal Requirements section 8.13, download the Performance Evaluation Survey below, complete the top section and send to at least three (3) current or previous clients who have used your company for like or similar services.
The bottom portion is to be completed by clients and then returned directly to cappleman.rachel@cusd80.com (via email) prior to 4:30 pm MST on Monday, May 11, 2026.
Upload a copy of an IRS Private Letter Ruling (PLR) for any of your clients outlining plan specification.
Will you allow other members of the Strategic Alliance of Volume Expenditures (SAVE) to piggy-back and purchase from the contract if awarded through this RFP*?
Offerors shall indicate any and all deviations and exceptions taken to the provisions or specifications in this solicitation document. Clearly identify the specific paragraph(s) of the solicitation where the deviations or exceptions occur, and describe in detail. Offeror’s preprinted or standard terms will not be considered as part of any resulting Contract. All deviations and exceptions that are contained in the Offer may negatively affect the evaluation criteria as stated in the solicitation and may result in rejection of the Offer.
If you requested any exceptions or deviations under the Acknowledgement and Acceptance of Terms and Conditions of the Proposal, please clearly explain the requested exceptions and/or deviations. Reference the specific language, including section number and page number, that you are taking exceptions and/or deviations to.
The Undersigned hereby acknowledges that all deviations/exceptions to this solicitation are clearly listed on this form.
All deviations and exceptions that are contained in the Offer may negatively affect the evaluation criteria as stated in the solicitation and may result in rejection of the Offer.
Offerors should identify any portion of their proposal deemed confidential or proprietary (see Uniform Terms and Conditions). Identification in this section does not guarantee that disclosure will be prevented but that the item will be subject to review by the Offeror and the School District prior to any public disclosure. Requests to deem the entire bid or price as confidential will not be considered
If the District Representative determines that the information shall be protected from disclosure, the District Representative shall inform the Offeror in writing of such determination.
If you requested any confidential and/or proprietary information be treated as confidential and protected from disclosure to the public, please upload a copy of the Proposal with the confidential and/or proprietary material redacted.
Failure to upload a redacted copy may result in denial of request. Identification in this section does not guarantee that disclosure will be prevented but that the item will be subject to review by the Offeror and the School District prior to any public disclosure. Requests to deem the entire bid or price as confidential will not be considered.
The persons, corporation, or company who makes the accompanying Proposal, having first been duly sworn, deposes confirms that such Proposal is genuine and not sham or collusive, nor made in the interest of, or behalf of, any persons not herein named, and that the Offeror has not directly or indirectly induced or solicited any other Offeror to put in a sham Proposal, or any other person, firm or corporation to refrain from submitting a Proposal, and that the Offeror has not in any manner sought by collusion to secure for itself an advantage over any other Offeror; and
that Offeror has taken steps and exercised due diligence to ensure that Offeror has not offered, conferred, or agreed to confer any personal gift or benefit on a person who supervises or participates in contracts, purchases, payments, claims or other financial transactions, or on a person who supervises or participates in planning, recommending, selecting or contracting for materials, services, goods, construction or construction services of the School District, in accordance with A.R.S. § 15-213(O), A.A.C. R7-2-1042(A.1.L), and A.A.C. R7-2-1003(J).
By confirming below the Offeror acknowledges that any and all amendments that have been issued have been reviewed. Acknowledgement indicates that the Offeror took the information provided in the amendment into consideration when providing their proposal response.
Complete the following downloadable forms and upload them in their respective questions.
If your company is selected and would require the District to sign a separate contract or agreement, upload a copy of that document.
Upload your complete COI here (If applicable)
The Undersigned hereby offers and agrees to furnish the material, service or construction in compliance with all terms, conditions, specifications, and amendments in the Solicitation and any written exceptions in the Proposal. Offer and Acceptance and award does not start the contract term. Contract begins July 1, 2026.
Download the below documents, complete, and upload.
Upload your complete W-9 here.
Download the below documents, complete, and upload.
Do you need an Electronic Pricing Table for this solicitation?
Would you like to add an area for the vendor to upload a cost proposal?
Please check all you will require in Special Terms and Conditions
If you click yes this document will be added to attachments
If you click yes, Subcontractor verbiage will be added to Special Requirements and the subcontractors list will be added to attachments.
If you click yes, additional verbiage will be added to special requirements tab
Please choose which insurance requirements you will need for this project
Yes = Acceptable
No = Unacceptable
Will this solicitation be a multiple award?
Will this be a market basket solicitation?
Will fingerprinting be required for employees of the responding firm or firms?
Will a vendor demonstration be required?
SLED stands for State, Local, and Education. These are solicitations issued by state governments, counties, cities, school districts, utilities, and higher education institutions — as opposed to federal agencies.
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