Employee Benefits Consultant and Actuarial Services

The Vendor is required to provide employee benefits consultant that will act as a liaison between the city and its benefit providers, become a subject matter expert on the city’s specific benefit customization, and provide outstanding customer service.
- General administrative requirements
• Team that will be available between the working hours of 8:00 am - 5:00 pm (PST) via phone and email.
• Response times should be within 1-2 business days.
• After-hours and emergency assistance, as needed.
• Advise and educate city staff on changing benefit issues, experience trends, and industry best practices.
• Assist the city in developing and coordinating an overall strategy and action plan for benefit plan implementation and enrollment.
• Have access to in-house benefits attorney for legal counsel and compliance assistance.
• Participate in health insurance advisory committee in the following capacity:
o Prepare and present reports at in-person monthly meetings to advice on plan options, market trends, audits, renewals, and other relevant topics.
o Prepare annual post-open enrollment report to reflect health plan enrollment changes between current and previous year.
o Assist with logistics by attending regular in-person meetings, helping with the development of the annual calendar, reviewing reporting packages, establishing long-term goals, and fielding questions and suggestions.
o Coordinate in-person attendance of benefit providers on scheduling and reviewing their utilization reports.
o Monitor state and federal legislation that might impact the city’s plan and present updates during the monthly meeting, as needed.
o Maintain comparison reports of other cities, counties, and public agencies’ benefit plan offerings and costs to determine competitiveness of the city’s programs, as needed.
• Attend the city’s general meeting with benefit providers to keep up to date with the day-to-day benefit administration.
• Assist with the entire open enrollment planning process each year in the following capacity:
o Develop and produce an effective communications campaign for open enrollment for new and ongoing benefits including concept, design, production, printing, and delivery of collateral in various mediums.
- Actuarial and financial services
• Provide estimates of renewal rates and cost trends in the following capacity:
o Develop a report with projections to assist the city’s annual healthcare budget forecast.
o Begin the renewal process 6-9 months prior to the effective date with a prerenewal meeting to understand the city’s budget requirements, expected growth, and other anticipated needs.
o Participate in a pre-renewal meeting and provide market trends analysis by plan, introduce relevant product innovation as needed, review insurance carrier performance, identify areas of cost containment, provide renewal estimates, and provide large claims analysis.
• Provide actuarial services including rate restructure and incurred but not reported (IBNR) reserve setting.
• Ongoing underwriting services that provide regular plan estimates and continued oversight.
• Assist the city with pricing and analyzing benefit change options.
• Prepare an annual forecast of employer costs for health, dental, and life insurance programs for the upcoming year.
• Participate in an annual November - January working session with human resources and financial management staff.
• Provide information to support early budget study sessions and long-term financial planning in February - march.
• Recommended benefit rate projections for budgeting purposes.
• Provide support for fiscal impact analysis for council reports, budget documents, or other financial communications.
• Be available for ad hoc consultations and periodic check-in meetings (e.g., quarterly, as needed).
• Provide analysis and support in advance for presentations to oversight or advisory bodies.
• Assist the city in understanding financial implications of benefit-related decisions and program changes.
• Actuarial and financial input in advance of the city’s annual benefits and open enrollment period (typically in the fall).
• Support the evaluation of plan costs, contribution strategies, and financial impacts for the upcoming year.