Alaska Railroad Corporation
401(k) Defined Contribution Plan &
457 Deferred Compensation Plan
Request for Proposals for
Retirement Plan Administration and Record Keeping Services
April 21, 2026
ALASKA RAILROAD CORPORATION
327 WEST SHIP CREEK AVENUE
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA 99501
EMAIL:
ned.taylor@morganstanley.com and
cc: wallaces@akrr.com
Important Notice: If you received this solicitation from any source other than the Plan Sponsor’s Consultant, you
must request a copy directly from Fiduciary Consulting Group in order to receive answers as well as subsequent
updates, amendments and/or other documents. Failure to contact the Consultant may result in the rejection of your
offer.
ALASKA RAILROAD CORPORATION
327 W. Ship Creek Avenue
Anchorage, AK 99501
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
#26-14-214404
Retirement Plan Administration and Record Keeping Services
Response Required: This page must be completed and returned to ensure receipt of future
addenda or additional information. Please e-mail this form to ned.taylor@morganstanley.com and
cc: wallaces@akrr.com. All addenda will be forwarded to the contact’s name and address listed
below.
Firms that have not returned the cover sheet will not be informed of addendums and will
only be alerted to addendums by checking ARRC’s internet site: www.alaskarailroad.com,
select Procurement and then Solicitations. Bidders must acknowledge the receipt of all
issued addendums in their proposal/bid submittal.
Company
Address
Contact
Phone
Email
Website: www.alaskarailroad.com
April 21, 2026
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
26-14-214404
Retirement Plan Administration and Record Keeping Services
The Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) from
qualified firms to provide administration, recordkeeping, education, communication,
investment-related services, and other support for its 401(k) and 457(b) retirement plans.
The RFP aims to evaluate competitive pricing for these services, and ARRC may either
retain its current provider or select a new one based on the proposal analysis.
An electronic copy shall be submitted (email is acceptable). Proposals will be received
until 3:00 p.m. Alaska time, on May 15, 2026 to ARRC’s Consultant Morgan Stanley
Attn: Ned Taylor and ARRC Contract Administrator Sarah Wallace.
The entire bid may be emailed to ned.taylor@morganstanley.com and must contain the RFP
number in the subject line of the email. Please note that email transmission is not
instantaneous. Like sending a hard copy bid, if you are emailing your bid, ARRC and Morgan
Stanley recommend sending it ahead of time to ensure the email is delivered by the deadline
for receipt of bids.
It is the bidder’s responsibility to contact the issuing agency at 1(971)-634-1498 or by email
at ned.taylor@morganstanley.com to confirm that the entire bid has been received. The state
is not responsible for unreadable, corrupt, or missing attachments.
It is the Firm’s responsibility to understand what is required by this solicitation. The ARRC
shall not be held responsible for Firm’s lack of understanding. Should a Firm not understand
any aspect of this RFP, or require further explanation, or clarification regarding the intent or
requirements of this document, it shall be the responsibility of the Firm to seek guidance from
the ARRC.
Proposals shall be submitted on the forms furnished herein. Amendments or withdrawals
must be received by ARRC’s Contracts Section prior to the date and time listed above.
Exceptions to Terms, Conditions and Specifications:
Each Proposer shall indicate all exceptions to terms, conditions, and specifications of this
solicitation individually in its proposal. IMPORTANT: Exceptions other than those not
allowed by law will be rejected. Exceptions received or placed after the proposal’s
submission date will be considered as counter offers and as such will render the entire
proposal non-responsive.
Multiple Proposals:
Multiple proposals are not allowed and if submitted all of your Firm’s proposals will be
determined as non-responsive.
The ARRC may award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror
whose offer conforming to this solicitation will be most advantageous to the ARRC.
ARRC may reject any or all offers if such action is in the best interest of ARRC, and waives
informalities and minor irregularities in offers received. ARRC may award a contract on
the basis of initial offers without discussions. Therefore, each initial offer should contain
the offeror’s best terms from a cost or price and technical standpoint. Any contract resulting
from this solicitation shall incorporate ARRC’s Standard Terms and Conditions contained
in this solicitation package as well as ARRC’s Procurement Rules.
This Request for Proposal is not to be construed as a commitment of any kind nor does it
commit the ARRC to pay for any cost incurred in the submission of an offer or for any other
cost incurred prior to the execution of a formal contract.
Protests (Per ARRC Procurement Rule 1800.2):
A protest based on alleged improprieties or ambiguities in a solicitation must be filed at
least 10 days before the due date of the bid or proposal, unless a later protest due date is
specifically allowed in the solicitation. If a solicitation is made with a shortened public notice
period and the protest is based on alleged improprieties or ambiguities in the solicitation,
the protest must be filed before the due date of the bid or proposal.
The protest of an invitation to bid or a request for proposals in which a pre-bid or pre-
proposal conference is held within 12 days of the due date must be filed before the due
date of the bid or proposal if the protest is based on alleged improprieties or ambiguities in
the solicitation. A protest based upon alleged improprieties in an award of a contract or a
proposed award of a contract must be filed within 10 days after a notice of intent to award
a contract is issued by the procurement officer.
ARRC Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program: ARRC is an equal
opportunity corporation that encourages the participation of DBEs as prime contractors and
subcontractors on its contracts funded in whole or in part by the Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) or the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The ARRC has a
race neutral DBE Program and does not set DBE goals on individual solicitations.
Nonetheless, the ARRC aspires to achieve an overall DBE participation of 4.0% in federal
fiscal years 2025-2027 on contracts funded by agencies within the U.S. Department of
Transportation. If this contract is funded in whole or in part by funds from the FTA or the
FHWA, it is imperative that you consult the Federal Terms and Conditions portion of this
solicitation.
Alaska Railroad is a member of Green Star (http://www.greenstarinc.org/).
ARRC earned an initial Green Star Award in 1994 and a Green Star Air Quality
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Award in 2007. The Alaska Railroad considers Green Star membership to be a
positive business attribute, and regards a Green Star award as a tangible sign
of an organization’s commitment to environmental stewardship and continual
improvement within its operations.
Questions
Please direct all questions concerning this RFP via email to ned.taylor@morganstanley.com.
Please include the RFP number in the subject line.
Sincerely,
Sarah Wallace
Contract Administration Specialist
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This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.
