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Board recommends Heywood as vendor for new pension administration system
Summary
After a multi-month request-for-proposal process, the Imperial County Board of Retirement approved recommending Heywood (partnering with JEA) as the county’s new pension administration system vendor and authorized staff to begin contract negotiations with conditions including warranty negotiations.
The Imperial County Board of Retirement on July 16 approved a motion recommending Heywood as the county’s new pension administration system (PAS) vendor and authorized staff to begin contract negotiations, with further negotiation on warranty terms.
Linea Solutions consultant Scott Larson told the board the RFP, issued in January after board approval in October 2024, produced five responses. Heywood and Pracentia were shortlisted and completed finalist demonstrations; Linea recommended Heywood based on its weighted evaluation scorecard, cost, implementation approach and a proposed collaboration with JEA, the county’s current PenFAX vendor.
The recommendation drew questions from board members about the difference between a full PAS implementation and third‑party administration, Heywood’s limited U.S. presence and the proposed implementation timeline. Larson said Heywood had proposed a two‑phase rollout: a core administration system followed by member and employer portals. Under Heywood’s timeline, the core system would reach production about 22 months after project start, followed by an eight‑month warranty period; phase two (portals) would begin three months after go‑live and target production in six months, for a total of roughly 33 months from project start. Staff said contract negotiations could conclude in August and the project could begin as early as September, pending final agreements.
Heywood presenters described the vendor as a U.K. pension‑technology firm with a large U.K./European client base and recent push into North America. Heywood said it would partner with JEA to use JEA’s PenFAX calculation engine and proposed an implementation team including JEA personnel to reduce data‑conversion risk. Heywood representatives demonstrated a member portal and retirement planner they said were designed from member research and included accessibility and multi‑language capabilities (the vendor said Spanish support could be provided).
Board members raised data‑conversion and warranty concerns. Director Ryan moved to approve the recommendation subject to continued contract negotiations on warranty terms; Jose Landeros seconded. The motion passed on a unanimous voice vote with no recorded no votes.
What happens next: staff will open contract negotiations with Heywood; the board was told negotiations are expected to take several weeks, and final start dates will depend on the contracting timetable.
Board members and staff emphasized the county’s intention to retain local office support for members who prefer in‑person assistance rather than the portal.
