Retirement Plan Exchange Platform Administrator

The Vendor is required to provide to establish, administer, and maintain a secure, publicly accessible retirement plan exchange (“Exchange”)
- A core objective of the Exchange is to remove complexity from the retirement plan selection process and enable employers to make informed decisions quickly and confidently.
- The Exchange Platform Administrator and will be responsible for delivering a fully operational platform by applicable statutory deadlines.
- The Office recognizes that initial provider participation may be intentionally limited in order to support service quality, operational efficiency, and meaningful provider engagement.
- Shall design, implement, and operate a Retirement Plan Exchange platform that enables eligible employers to evaluate, compare, and select retirement plan options from participating private-sector providers.
- The platform shall be designed to function as a neutral marketplace and must support scalable participation by employers and providers.
- Agency Responsibilities:
• Provide oversight and policy direction; and
• Supply employer data where authorized.
- Platform Establishment and Operation:
• Design, deploy, and maintain a secure, publicly accessible online platform;
• Provide a state-branded employer interface;
• Support employer account creation and secure login functionality; and
• Maintain platform neutrality among participating providers.
- Employer Intake and Plan Pathway Determination
• The platform shall be designed to prioritize simplicity, speed, and ease of decision-making for employers. The platform must enable employers to evaluate options and reach a confident plan selection in a minimal number of steps and within a short time frame, without requiring specialized knowledge of retirement plans.
• The platform shall include a structured employer onboarding process that:
o Collects employer demographic and contact information;
o Gathers plan-relevant data (e.g., employee count, payroll characteristics, existing plan status); and
o Applies a consistent decision framework to determine appropriate plan pathways.
• The platform must support multiple plan pathways, including:
o Automatic-enrollment IRA arrangements; and
o Automatic-enrollment 401(k) plans.
• The platform shall be designed to achieve the following usability objectives:
o Employers are able to complete initial onboarding and reach a plan selection in a streamlined, guided process; and
o The process minimizes decision friction and avoids unnecessary complexity.
- The Contractor shall describe the methodology used to guide employers through pathway determination and plan selection.
- The platform shall be designed to accommodate employers with limited familiarity with retirement plans, including:
• Plain-language guidance;
• Decision support tools; and
• Optional assisted enrollment processes.