Request for Information (RFI) · 2.4 Interpretation of this RFI 2.4.1 Suppliers must request clarification and/or additional information for purposes of preparing a response to this

Financial Services Department Procure to Pay Division 370 Helen Joseph Street

Pretoria

Request for Information (RFI)

Ref. no: RFI: 4564135

Request for information for provision of a technology

solution and/or services for the administration of the South

African Reserve Bank Retirement Fund.

Closing date: 23 February 2018 (Time: 15:00)

Information to be submitted to:

Attention: Masixole Barnes .......................... Email:[email protected]

State full name of organisation:

Name:

Tel:

Email:

mailto:[email protected]

2 RFI– SARB Retirement Fund Administration

This document contains information that is proprietary and confidential to the South African Reserve Bank who has all rights of copyright in it. Any dissemination, distribution, reproduction, or disclosure in any form of the content of this document is forbidden without prior written permission of the South African Reserve Bank

Contents

1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 4

1.1 Key functions of the South African Reserve Bank ................................................... 4

1.2 Values of the SARB ................................................................................................ 5

1.3 Procurement Framework......................................................................................... 5

2. OVERVIEW OF THIS RFI .............................................................................................. 5

2.1 Invitation to suppliers .............................................................................................. 5

2.2 Timeline for this RFI ................................................................................................ 6

2.3 RFI submission ....................................................................................................... 6

2.4 Interpretation of this RFI.......................................................................................... 7

2.5 Reservation of rights ............................................................................................... 8

3. SCOPE OF RFI.............................................................................................................. 8

3.1 Details of scope ...................................................................................................... 8

3.1.1 Option 1: Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Solution/s ................................... 9

3.1.2 Option 2: Software as a Service (SaaS) ........................................................... 9

3.1.3 Option 3: Retirement Fund Administration Services ......................................... 9

3.2 Objectives and benefits ......................................................................................... 10

4. SARB RETIREMENT FUND BACKGROUND ............................................................. 10

4.1 About the Fund ..................................................................................................... 10

4.2 Fund administration objectives .............................................................................. 11

4.3 Membership .......................................................................................................... 11

4.4 Applicable legislation ............................................................................................ 12

5. BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS/TERMS OF REFERENCE ........................................... 12

5.1 Business function and process definition .............................................................. 12

5.1.1 A. Member administration .............................................................................. 12

5.1.2 B. Member death administration .................................................................... 13

5.1.3 C. Member financial account administration ................................................... 13

5.1.4 D. Fund investment management .................................................................. 14

5.1.5 E. Payment administration ............................................................................. 14

5.1.6 F. Periodic Fund reconciliation processing ..................................................... 15

5.1.7 G. Fund cost management ............................................................................. 15



5.1.8 H. Periodic statutory and regulatory reporting ................................................ 15

6. SPECIFICATIONS ....................................................................................................... 16

6.1 Response to requirements .................................................................................... 16

6.1.1 Option 1: Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Solution(s) ............................... 16

6.1.2 Option 2: Software as a Service (SaaS) ......................................................... 16

6.1.3 Option 3: Retirement Fund Administration Services ....................................... 17

6.2 Technology solution high-level requirements ........................................................ 17

6.3 Future-proofing ..................................................................................................... 21

6.4 Solutions architecture ........................................................................................... 21

6.5 Retirement Fund administrative services .............................................................. 22

6.6 Indicative pricing ................................................................................................... 22



1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Key functions of the South African Reserve Bank

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is the central bank of the Republic of South

Africa. The SARB was established by section 9 of the Currency and Banking Act 31 of

1920 and is governed by the South African Reserve Bank Act 90 of 1989, as amended

(SARB Act). The SARB has three cash centres located in Johannesburg, Durban and

Cape Town, as well as a depot in Pretoria North. The SARB also has three subsidiaries,

namely the South African Mint Company (RF) Proprietary Limited (South African Mint),

which manufactures coins on behalf of the SARB; the South African Note Company (RF)

Proprietary Limited (SABN), which manufactures banknotes on behalf of the SARB; and

the Corporation for Public Deposits (CPD), which accepts all public deposits. Together

with the South African Reserve Bank Retirement Fund, the aforesaid institutions are

collectively known as the SARB Group.

The SARB is required to achieve and maintain price stability in the interest of balanced

and sustainable economic growth in South Africa. The achievement of price stability is

quantified by the setting of an inflation target by government that serves as a yardstick

against which price stability is measured. The achievement of price stability is

underpinned by the stability of the financial system and financial markets. For this

reason, the SARB is obliged to actively promote financial stability as one of the important

determinants of financial system stability. The SARB has been entrusted with the

overarching monetary policy goal of containing inflation and is ultimately accountable to

Parliament.

Sections 223 to 225 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996, the SARB

Act and the regulations framed in terms of the SARB Act, provide the enabling

framework for the SARB's operations. The independence and autonomy of the SARB

are entrenched in the Constitution. In terms of section 224 of the Constitution, 1996,

"the South African Reserve Bank, in pursuit of its primary object, must perform

its functions independently and without fear, favour or prejudice, but there must be

regular consultation between the Bank and the Cabinet member responsible for national

financial matters." The SARB thus has a considerable degree of autonomy in the

execution of its duties.



1.2 Values of the SARB

The SARB strives to function efficiently and effectively, and promotes an ethical

environment based on a number of common organisational values. These values

include:

maintaining trustworthiness and credibility;

demonstrating exceptionally high degrees of integrity and commitment to the

greater good; and

maintaining professionalism and excellence in the delivery of services and the

execution of its responsibilities.

The SARB aims to be a respected institution and a beacon of stability that follows an

agile, responsive and flexible approach to its operations.

1.3 Procurement Framework

The SARB’s evaluation methodology is premised on section 217(1) of the Constitution

which determines that when contracting for goods and services, institutions identified in

national legislation must do so in accordance with a system that is fair, equitable,

transparent, competitive and cost-effective. In addition, the SARB has also implemented

a Procurement Policy as provided for in section 217(2) of the Constitution. The SARB’s

Procurement Policy makes provision for preferential procurement consistent with the

Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act 53 of 2003 and Codes of

Good Practice on B-BBEE. In this regard, the SARB is guided by the B-BBEE

Scorecards published by the Department of Trade and Industry from time to time. The

SARB’s procurement processes are further subject to generally applicable law such as

the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA) and the Promotion of

Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 (PAJA).

2. OVERVIEW OF THIS RFI

2.1 Invitation to suppliers

The SARB hereby invites suppliers to submit information for the delivery of the goods or

rendering of the services to the SARB as described on the cover page, in accordance

with the requirements set out in this request for information (RFI).



2.2 Timeline for this RFI

The table below lists key events, dates and periods applicable to this RFI.

No. Description Date/period

1. Publication date of RFI

11 February 2018

2. Due date for supplier to submit its intention to

respond 13 February 2018

3 Deadline for registration of suppliers to attend the

briefing session Not applicable

4 Briefing session

Compulsory

Yes No

X

5 Deadline for requests by prospective suppliers for

clarification and/or additional information 16 February 2018

6 Site inspection

Not Applicable

7 Cut-off date for the SARB’s response to suppliers’

requests for clarification and/or additional

information

19 February 2018

8 Closing date and time of RFI 23 February 2018 at 15:00

All dates and times in this RFI are based on South African Standard Time (GMT+2).

The dates and times stipulated in this RFI are subject to change at the SARB’s sole

discretion. Any such changes will be communicated by the SARB to suppliers using the

same channel used to publish the RFI. These dates and times do not create an

obligation on the part of the SARB to take any action, or create any right for a supplier

to demand that the SARB executes a certain action on a specific date at a certain time.

The supplier acknowledges and accepts that if the SARB extends the closing date for

submission of a response to this RFI for any reason, the requirements of this RFI

otherwise apply equally to the extended deadline.

2.3 RFI submission

2.3.1 Every supplier who intends to respond to this RFI should indicate its intention to

respond through the SARB’s e-Sourcing portal if the RFI was published on the portal,



or via email if the RFI was sent to the supplier by email, by or before the due date

specified.

2.3.2 The RFI must be submitted through the SARB’s e-Sourcing portal if the RFI was

published on the portal or via email if the RFI was sent to the supplier by email.

Submissions must be sent via email to [email protected]

2.3.3 The suppliers are responsible for the timeous submission of their responses to the

SARB. The closing time for submission of the RFI is stated on page 6 of the RFI Late

submission will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

2.3.4 The SARB may conduct site visits where it deems such visits to be necessary for

purposes of the evaluation or verification of claims made by the supplier in its RFI.

2.3.5 Nothing in this RFI should be construed as a contract between the SARB and the

supplier and no communication, whether verbal or written, by any of the SARB’s

personnel or agents during the course of this process will create such a contract in

respect of this RFI.

2.3.6 All costs incurred during the preparation and compilation of a supplier’s RFI will be

borne exclusively by the supplier, unless otherwise prescribed by applicable law or a

relevant professional body.

2.4 Interpretation of this RFI

2.4.1 Suppliers must request clarification and/or additional information for purposes of

preparing a response to this RFI through the SARB’s e-Sourcing portal if the RFI was

published on the portal, or via email if the RFI was sent to the supplier by email.

Requests for clarification and/or additional information must be submitted by close of

business on the date indicated on page 6.

2.4.2 Any clarification must be sent in writing to the following person:

[email protected]

2.4.3 Suppliers must refrain from contacting any of the SARB’s personnel regarding this RFI

unless such contact is made through the e-Sourcing portal’s online discussion facility

where the RFI was published on the portal, or via email if the RFI was sent to the

supplier by email.

2.4.4The SARB will respond to suppliers’ requests for clarification and/or additional

information by no later than close of business on the date specified on the cover page.





Suppliers must note that additional information will be provided at the SARB’s

discretion.

2.4.5In this RFI document the terms ‘will’ and ‘must’ indicate a mandatory requirement.

Failure by a supplier to comply with any mandatory requirement may result in its

disqualification from this RFI process. The terms ‘should’ or ‘may’ indicate desirable or

recommended requirements. Compliance with such requirements may lead to a

supplier obtaining a higher score.

2.5 Reservation of rights

Suppliers must note that the SARB reserves the right in its sole discretion to:

2.5.1Reject a supplier’s RFI that does not respond to critical aspects of the requirements set

out in this RFI.

2.5.2Modify the scope of this RFI, change any of the requirements, conditions, procedures or

rules set out in this RFI, supplement any information or amend, vary, or supplement

any of the SARB’s contractual terms, at any time prior to the closing date of the RFI.

In such an event, the SARB will inform suppliers who have indicated their intention to

respond that an addendum to the RFI has been published on the e-Sourcing portal.

2.5.3Condone non-compliance by the supplier with any administrative requirements set out

in this RFI. In such an event, the SARB may allow the supplier an opportunity to

remedy the defect within 7 (seven) days, or such shorter period as the SARB may

determine of the supplier being notified by the SARB of the defect. Under no

circumstances will suppliers be allowed to make any material amendments or

materially supplement their RFI submissions after the stipulated closing date and time.

2.5.4 Not to invite all those suppliers who had expressed their interest.

3. SCOPE OF RFI

3.1 Details of scope

The objective of this RFI is to identify the most appropriate solution and/or services for

addressing the SARB Retirement Fund (Fund) requirements to manage the

administration of the SARB Retirement Fund.

Owing to the explorative nature of this RFI, suppliers are requested to provide

information regarding their offerings as related to one or more of the following options:



3.1.1 Option 1: Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Solution/s

This option is solely for the procurement of a COTS technology solution that addresses

Retirement Fund Administration functions (defined in Section 5 of this document) and

the high-level functional requirements in Section 6.3 of this document.

This option implies that the solution will be hosted on premise, on the SARB’s

infrastructure, supported and maintained by the SARB, and backed by support

agreements with the supplier. The SARB will have the option to customise the solution

to address unique business requirements.

Risk management associated with disaster recovery and information security will be

addressed by the SARB.

3.1.2 Option 2: Software as a Service (SaaS)

This option would see the Fund subscribe to a cloud application service that is hosted

in the cloud or on premise (private cloud), maintained and supported by the supplier.

This option implies that the solution may be availed in the following ways:

Hosted by the supplier, and supported and maintained by the supplier. Any

customisation will be negotiated between the supplier and the SARB as per agreed

contract. Risks associated with disaster recovery will be addressed solely by the

supplier, including information security requirements.

Hosted by the SARB, and supported and maintained by the Supplier. Any


contract. Risks associated with disaster recovery will be addressed jointly by the

supplier and the SARB, including information security requirements.

3.1.3 Option 3: Retirement Fund Administration Services

This option would see the entire administration of the Fund – people, processes and

technology – being outsourced to a supplier capable of providing such services.

Inclusive to this option, the supplier must provide an online self-service platform

providing Fund user groups (including Fund members, personnel, Board of Trustees and

committee members) the capabilities defined in section 6.3 of this document.

Please refer to section 5 of this document for a high-level description of the

administrative functions and business processes currently performed by the Fund and

section 6.3 for the high-level solution requirements, to which the supplier’s response for

this option must align.



3.2 Objectives and benefits

Once the Board of Trustees of the Fund and the SARB have selected an approach, the

selected application(s) or tool to be implemented and/or services to be procured through

a subsequent formal request for proposal (RFP) will enable the SARB to reap the

following benefits (but not limited to):

Modernise administration processes by eliminating redundant processes and

improving process efficiency and effectiveness across the Fund’s value chain.

Implement a modernised administration system to enable the Fund to keep abreast

with a rapidly changing market and its preferences.

Implement an interoperable solution with the innate ability to seamlessly integrate

with existing enterprise systems across the SARB’s technology landscape, such as,

but not limited to, Oracle eBusiness suite (financial, HR and payroll modules),

Microsoft Dynamics CRM and other Microsoft suite applications, thereby eliminating

inappropriate manual intervention.

Ensure the different dashboards the Board of Trustees, its committee members and

Fund members (collectively referred to as users) have access to provide valuable

information that will assist them in decision making and retirement planning

respectively.

Provide users with a self-service functionality, allowing them to maintain personal

information and flexibility in order for Fund members to structure investment portfolios

within the limitations of the Fund rules, with such changes implemented in the payroll

system via integration.

4. SARB RETIREMENT FUND BACKGROUND

4.1 About the Fund

The Fund is a defined contribution pension fund which is self-administrated in terms of

the Pension Funds Act 24 of 1956 and approved as a pension fund in terms of the

Income Tax Act 58 of 1962. It is registered with the Financial Services Board (FSB) and

the South African Revenue Service (SARS), as required by legislation. The Fund

operates as a separate legal entity from the SARB.

The Pensions Administration Section of the Financial Services Department of the SARB

administers the operations of the Fund based on applicable rules and legislation.



4.2 Fund administration objectives

The Fund is governed by a Board of Trustees and its objective is to provide retirement

and other benefits for employees and former employees of the participating employers,

and benefits in the event of their death. It further provides housing loans to certain

contributing members of the subsidiaries collateralised by a prescribed percentage of

the member’s share in the Fund. Participating employers are the SARB, SABN and

South African Mint, and any future subsidiaries established to achieve the SARB’s

expanding mandate.

4.3 Membership

4.3.1 Contributing member

The contributing member pool currently consists of SARB employees and the

employees of the SARB’s subsidiaries, namely the SABN and South African Mint.

4.3.2. Preserved member

A member who has not yet retired but has left the service of the participating

employer prior to normal retirement date, preserving the pension benefit in the

Fund.

4.3.3. Deferred retiree

A member who retired from the service of the participating employer and elected to

defer his/her retirement from the Fund to a later date.

4.3.4. Pensioner

A member who retired from the participating employer and Fund, in receipt of a

pension provided by the Fund.

Life annuitant: is the pensioner/annuitant who receives a series of future

payments for his/her lifetime after retirement.

Living annuitant: a member who retired from the service of the participating

employer and the Fund and elected the living annuity option, and receives a life

pension and a monthly living annuity pension.

Suspended pensioner: a pensioner of the Fund who is re-employed by the

participating employer and elected to suspend his/her pension for the duration

of the employment.



Ex-Pension Fund pensioner: a pensioner of the ex-Pension Fund of the SARB

in receipt of a monthly pension who was transferred and ring-fenced within the

Fund.

4.4 Applicable legislation

The Fund must comply with the following legislation:

Pension Funds Act 24 of 1956

Income Tax Act 58 of 1962

Divorce Act 70 of 1979

The National Credit Act 34 of 2005, Regulation 62(1)(b)

Section H of Currency and Exchanges Manual for Authorised Dealers

The Financial Institutions (Protection of Funds) Act 28 of 2001

Financial Sector Regulation Act 9 of 2017

Rules of the Fund

5. BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS/TERMS OF REFERENCE

The Fund requires a solution and/or services to enable the following Fund administration

business processes.

Figure 1: High-level value chain

Core business processes

Administrative business processes

5.1 Business function and process definition

5.1.1 A. Member administration

Member administration encompasses the management of the life cycle of members of

the Fund, as defined in section 4.3 of this document. The management of this life cycle

includes the following lower-level processes:

A. Member administration

B. Member death

administration

C. Member financial account

administration

D. Fund investment

management

E. Payment

administration

F. Periodic Fund reconciliation processing

G. Fund cost management

H. Periodic statutory and regulatory

reporting



Process member on-boarding: This process includes the activities involved in the on-

boarding of new members.

Process member termination: This process includes the activities involved in the

management of terminations as a result of a member’s resignation from the

participating employers.

Process member divorce settlement: This process includes the activities involved in

processing a member’s divorce settlement in terms of a court order against the

members’ account.

Process member retirement: This process includes the activities involved in the

processing of a member’s retirement from the Fund.

Process home loan applications: This process includes the activities involved in the

application for a housing loan from the Fund. Members are eligible to apply for a

housing loan from the Fund based on prescribed rules.

Process annual pensioner increments: This process includes the activities involved

in implementing annual increments for pensioners.

Maintain share balance: This process includes the activities involved in maintaining

the share balance of pensioners.

5.1.2 B. Member death administration

Member death administration includes all business processes involved in addressing

and finalising the benefits due as a result of a member’s death. This includes all

members as defined in section 4.3 of this document. The following lower-level processes

are included.

Process death in service: This process includes the activities involved in the

processing of a member’s death while in the service of the SARB.

Process death after service: This process includes the activities involved in the

processing of a member’s death after termination of his/her employment.

Conduct periodic survivorship verification: This process includes the activities

involved in the verification of survivorship of all members except contributing

members. These activities include, but are not limited to, the confirmation of

enrolment for study in cases where the beneficiary is of applicable age.

5.1.3 C. Member financial account administration

Member financial account administration includes all business processes involved in the

processing of member contribution and returns allocations as well as the allocation of



housing loan instalments, where the Fund has awarded a member a home loan. The

following lower-level processes are included:

Allocate Fund contributions: This process includes the activities involved in the

allocation of monthly member contributions and transfers from the previous employer

to the Fund. Allocations are made to a member’s account.

Allocate investment returns: This process includes the activities involved in the

allocation of investment returns accrued over a period (monthly) to a member’s

account.

Allocate housing loan repayments: This process includes the activities involved in the

allocation of monthly housing loan repayments (instalments) for a member who has

been issued a housing loan by the Fund.

Allocation of interest calculations: This process includes the activities involved in the

allocation of monthly housing loan interest amounts for members with housing loan

balances.

Perform investment portfolio switches: This process includes the activities involved

in switching between investment portfolios by all members except pensioners.

5.1.4 D. Fund investment management

Fund investment management includes all business processes involved in the

investment of contributions made into the Fund by members as well as facilitating

engagements with the Fund’s investment service provider.

5.1.5 E. Payment administration

Payment administration includes business processes involved in executing payments to

members and beneficiaries. The following lower-level processes are included:

Process termination payment: This process includes activities involved in the

payment of a member’s fund credit due to death, retirement or resignation from the

Fund. This includes handling transfers from the Fund to another fund of the

terminated member’s choice.

Process divorce settlement payout: This process includes activities involved in the

payment of divorce settlements as per a court order.

Process monthly retirement payment: This process includes activities involved in the

monthly payment to retired members of the Fund.



5.1.6 F. Periodic Fund reconciliation processing

Periodic Fund reconciliation processing includes business processes involved in

periodically reconciling various financial aspects of the Fund. The following lower-level

processes are included:

Perform account reconciliation: This process includes all activities involved in the

reconciliation of the administration system to the Fund’s general ledger.

5.1.7 G. Fund cost management

Fund cost management includes business processes involved in the analysis,

apportionment and payment of Fund administration costs. The following lower-level

processes include:

Apportion Fund administration costs: This process includes activities involved in the

apportionment of Fund administration costs to a member, as per apportionment

criteria.

Pay Fund administration costs: This process includes activities involved in the

payment of Fund administration costs.

5.1.8 H. Periodic statutory and regulatory reporting

Periodic statutory reporting includes business processes involved in the compilation of

various periodic statutory reports, including but not limited to financial and credit, and as

prescribed by the legislation defined in section 4.4 of this document. The following lower-

level processes include:

Compile Fund financial statements: This process includes the activities involved in

the production of periodic various financial statements for the Fund.

Compile National Credit Regulator (NCR) reports: This process includes the activities

involved in the production of periodic NCR credit reports, in accordance with the

Fund’s accreditation as a credit provider.

Conduct forex investment reporting: This process includes activities involved in the

reporting of forex investments, in accordance with section H of the Currency and

Exchanges Manual for Authorised Dealers. Additional related periodic reporting is

conducted on SARB internal departments such as Financial Stability and Financial

Surveillance in accordance with the Fund’s accreditation as a financial services

provider.

Compile statistical reports: This process includes the activities involved in the

statistical reporting to the SARB’s internal Economic Research and Statistics



Department, in accordance with the Fund’s accreditation as a financial service

provider.

6. SPECIFICATIONS

6.1 Response to requirements

The supplier may elect to respond to any (one or more) of the following options:

6.1.1 Option 1: Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Solution(s)

This option is solely for the procurement of a COTS technology solution that addresses

Retirement Fund Administration functions (defined in section 5 of this document) and

the high-level functional requirements in section 6.3 of this document.

This option implies that the solution will be hosted on premise, on the SARB’s

infrastructure, supported and maintained by the SARB, backed by support

agreements with the supplier. The SARB will have the option to customise the

solution to address unique business requirements. Risk management associated with

disaster recovery and information security will be addressed by the SARB.

6.1.2 Option 2: Software as a Service (SaaS)

This option would see the Fund subscribed to a cloud application service that is hosted

in the cloud or on premise (private cloud), maintained and supported by the supplier.

This option implies that the solution may be availed in the following ways:

Hosted by the supplier, and supported and maintained by the supplier. Any


contract. Risks associated with disaster recovery will be addressed solely by the

supplier, including security requirements associated with identity and access

management.

Hosted by the SARB, and supported and maintained by the supplier. Any

customisation will be negotiated between the Supplier and the SARB as per agreed

contract. Risks associated with disaster recovery will be addressed jointly by the

supplier and the SARB, including security requirements associated with identity and

access management.



6.1.3 Option 3: Retirement Fund Administration Services

This option would see the entire administration of the Fund – people, processes and

technology – being outsourced to a supplier capable of providing such services.

Inclusive to this option, the supplier must provide an online self-service platform

providing Fund user groups (including Fund members, Fund personnel, Board of

Trustees and committee members) the capabilities defined in section 6.3 of this

document.



section 6.3 for the high-level solution requirements to which the supplier’s response for


6.2 Technology solution high-level requirements

High-level requirements for the technology solution have been formulated into a table

for the supplier response. The supplier is required to:

Indicate the appropriate response code column for each of the general requirements.

Omitted responses will be assumed as ‘NA’ (not available).

Utilise the comments section for explanations, clarifications and alternate proposals.

Identify the software module or tool which will meet the requirement(s). If this is an

additional or ‘add-on’ product beyond the core offering, for which additional licensing

would be required, please note this.

Note any assumptions, constraints or issue the supplier might be making as it

pertains to the function specified in the comments section. Each item must provide

the reason or rationale supporting the item of concern and/or counterproposal.



Table 1: Functional requirements response criteria

Response to

requirement

Abbreviation Definition and criteria

Out-of-box OB Functionality exists, out-of-box, with no configuration or

modification. Functionality to meet this requirement is installed and

operational at other sites and can be demonstrated to the

organisation.

Configuration CF Functional requirement is met through configuration changes to the

existing system. ‘Configuration’ includes changes via

administration consoles or changes to parameters within system

configuration files.

Custom CS Functional requirement will be met through programmatic changes,

enhancements or extensions to the system source code. Such

changes imply future maintenance considerations, such as

analysis, planning, potential changes and enhancements, re-

application during updates, upgrades, or when applying software

patches.

Future FU Requirement will be met by a proposed solution that is currently

under development, in Beta test, or otherwise not yet released.

Supplied by

third party

TP Functional requirement is met or provided by a third-party software

package and is included in this proposal. Functionality to meet this

requirement is installed and operational at other sites and can be

demonstrated to the organisation. Capability is ‘bolt-on’ and will

require maintenance of the integration with the core package as

well as future updates, upgrades or software patches to the third-

party component.

Not available NA Functional requirement will not be provided by the system.

The proposed technology solutions must address the following high-level critical requirements

(but not limited to), aligned to the defined business functions and related processes in section

5:

Requirement

category

No. Description Comments

Member

administration

6.3.1

The ability to manage the life cycle of a Fund

member, from inception through to termination

relating to death, retirement or resignation,

including but not limited to other critical life events

such as marriage, divorce, death and beneficiary

administration.

6.3.2 The ability to process payouts, including but not

limited to transfers (the transfer of funds to

another fund administrator), monthly payouts to

retired Fund members, beneficiary payouts and

terminated member payouts.



6.3.3 The ability to systematically structure various

retirement (investment) portfolios (i.e. SARB Life

Stage model).

6.3.4 Describe the solutions member Master Data

management capability.

Housing loan

administration

6.3.5 The ability to manage housing loan

administration for Fund members, in accordance

with SARB Retirement Fund rules, including but

not limited to the ability to calculate monthly

instalments and the administration of monthly

housing loan repayments, interest charges, and

changes to instalments as a result of interest rate

or term changes.

Self-service 6.3.6 A self-service capability/portal which provides

Fund members with the ability to manage their

investment portfolios, with such changes

implemented in the payroll system via integration.

6.3.7 The ability for Fund members to perform pension

projections.

6.3.8 The ability for Fund members to extract pre-

defined reports, such as member certificates and

periodic statements from the self-service portal

on an ad hoc basis.

6.3.9

The ability for Fund members to self-maintain

member personal information, including

beneficiary information.

6.3.10 The ability for Fund Trustees and committee

members to access the self-service functionality,

including but not limited to the ability to extract

management reports and to maintain personal

information.

6.3.11 The ability to upload documents (i.e. ID copies,

proof of address and court order documents).

Documents must be associated with the member

profile and appropriately secured.

6.3.12 The ability for Fund members to apply online for

mortgage loans, including the ability to calculate

projected housing loan instalments based on a

requested loan amount.

6.3.13 Self-service capability for administrators/

coordinators within the SARB Group to access

various functionality, including but not limited to

functionality to extract periodic Trustee reports

and statistical or compliance data from the

system.



6.3.14 The solution must have innate usability features,

such as being intuitive by adapting to mobile

devices and providing users with the ability to

modify the landing page, a graphic presentation

of member investment value, and contribution

allocations and return allocations.

6.3.15 Describe the security controls and/or features

pertaining to identity and access inherit in the

solutions self-service platform.

Allocation of

contributions

and allocation of

investment

returns

6.3.16 The ability to process monthly allocations (payroll

deductions) to member profiles.

6.3.17

The ability to process investment return

allocations to member profiles.

Document

Upload

6.3.18 The ability to upload documents via the self-

service portal.

6.3.19 The ability to systematically associate master

data documents to member profiles, using

relevant meta-data to ensure association is

maintained between the proposed system and

the SARB enterprise document management

solution.

6.3.20 The ability to link documents to a transaction or

event (i.e. member query, beneficiary verification

with the Department of Home Affairs

(survivorship confirmation)).

Statutory

reporting

6.3.21 The ability to extract predefined periodic statutory

and/or compliance reports for various

stakeholders. Such stakeholders include, but are

not limited to SARS, FSB, NCR and the Board of

Trustees.

6.3.22 Describe software’s compliance with financial

reporting standards such as regulatory reporting

requirements for retirement funds in South Africa.

User

administration

6.3.23 The ability to define user roles and access, and

authorisation rights.

6.3.24 The ability to integrate, via API tools, to the SARB

enterprise identity and access management

solution.

Auditability

6.3.25

Describe auditability features associated to user

system actions, including those related to

workflow authorisations.

Status

management

6.3.26 The ability to define statuses related to workflow

activities.



Security 6.3.27 Describe the security controls and/or features

pertaining to identity and access for internal

SARB user groups and external user groups (i.e.

Board of Trustee and retired members).

Workflow

management

6.3.28 Describe the solutions workflow capability,

including the ability to define workflow activities

and related levels of authorisation for standard

repetitive business processes activities (i.e. the

generation of periodic statutory reports).

Integration 6.3.29 Describe the solutions ability to seamlessly

integrate, through API tools, mechanisms to

applications external to the system.

Such systems may include, but are not limited to

Oracle eBusiness suite, including HR and

financial modules (banking, investment, payroll),

document management, Microsoft Dynamics

CRM and other Microsoft suite applications,

including Outlook and Active Directory solutions.

6.3.30 Describe the general ledger (GL) capability of the

solutions (i.e. Does the solution have innate GL

functionality? If not, describe in detail the

solution’s ability to integrate to the GL in the

Oracle eBusiness suite financial modules).

6.3.31 Describe the solution’s ability to handle service

interfaces via REST, SOA etc.

Automated data

exchange

6.3.32 The ability to exchange data or information (i.e.

reports, systematically with stakeholders external

to the SARB).

Usability 6.3.33 Describe the system’s user experience features.

6.3 Future-proofing

The supplier, irrespective of the option its response(s) pertains to, is requested to

describe its future-proofing plans associated with market disrupters such as, but not

limited to, distributed ledger technology (DLT) and other technology-related

developments in the financial services industry.

6.4 Solutions architecture

The supplier is requested to provide the following information:

1. Software specifications of the tool

2. Technology requirements for hosting the on-premise solution options



6.5 Retirement Fund administrative services

The supplier is requested to provide relevant information relating to administration

services, which entails a complete outsourcing of the Fund administration function from

the SARB. Inclusive to this option, the supplier must provide an online self-service

platform providing Fund user groups (including Fund members, Fund personnel, Board

of Trustees and committee members) the capabilities defined in section 6.3 of this

document.

Although highlighted in section 6.3, it is important that responses related to this option

describe methods available for GL and Payroll integration and synchronisation with the

SARB’s financial systems and HR modules.



section 6.3 for the high-level solution requirements to which the supplier’s response for


6.6 Indicative pricing

Suppliers are requested to provide indicative pricing (total cost of ownership) of the

different elements within the proposed solution for budgeting purposes:

1. For on-premise solution options (COTS):

a. software licensing costs (Initial and annual);

b. installation/implementation services;

c. integration;

d. training;

e. support and maintenance costs; and

f. any other costs envisaged (e.g. development costs in the case of customisations).

2. In case of Software as a service (SaaS) solution:

a. annual subscription costs;

b. annual support costs must be specified; and

c. and any other costs envisaged.

3. In the case of Retirement Fund Administration Services (outsourcing):



a. All costs associated with the different elements of the service as defined in the

supplier’s response related to section 6.6 of this document.



ABBREVIATIONS

API application programming interface

B-BBEE Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment

COTS Commercial Off-the-Shelf

CPD Corporation for Public Deposits

CRM customer relationship management

DLT distributed ledger technology

FSB Financial Services Board

Fund SARB Retirement Fund

GL general ledger

HR human resources

ID identity document

NCR National Credit Regulator

REST representational state transfer

RF ring-fenced

RFI request for information

RFP request for proposal

SaaS Software as a Service

SABN South African Note Company (RF) Proprietary Limited

SARB South African Reserve Bank

SARS South African Revenue Service

SOA services-orientated architecture

South African Mint South African Mint Company (RF) Proprietary Limited