Maintenance and support services for gpaa’s legacy pension administration systems (civpen, pekwa, tax directives)

The tender requires maintenance and support services for the Government Pensions Administration Agency’s (GPAA) Benefits Administration Application (CIVPEN) and related systems. The scope includes: application maintenance and system support, after-hours production support, implementation of new legislative changes, scheduled batch processing, data extraction and reporting, and taxation/actuarial support. The GPAA administers pension affairs for ~1.85 million government employees, pensioners, and beneficiaries, using legacy systems (e.g., CIVPEN on IBM mainframe with Natural/Adabas) alongside modern platforms. The service provider must ensure continuity until the new solution is fully deployed.

Closing date and time: 06 July 2026 at 11:00 AM. Non-compulsory online briefing session: 22 June 2026, 15:00–16:00 via Microsoft Teams (Meeting ID: 373 644 946 443 061, Passcode: Wg2GG36T, Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/373644946443061?p=Z0mBSsIhJR1HiQuID4). Deadline for written clarification enquiries: 29 June 2026. Questions and Answers will be uploaded to GPAA’s website and eTender portal on 01 July 2026.

Enquiries: [email protected]. Submission address: National Treasury eTender Portal (www.etenders.gov.za).

Submit proposals electronically via the National Treasury eTender Portal (www.etenders.gov.za). No physical submissions, hand-delivered documents, or courier deliveries will be accepted. Late submissions are not permitted; the portal will block uploads after the closing date and time. Ensure the Pricing Schedule (SBD 3.3) is uploaded separately and clearly labelled. All company details (full name, physical address, contact number, email, contact person, and bid closing date) must be accurately entered in the eTender portal fields. Incomplete, unsigned, or partially signed pricing schedules will result in automatic disqualification. Tender validity period: 120 days.

10.1 Bidders must pay attention to the Standard Conditions of Tender and all other aspect of the

10.2 Bidders must submit their complete bid electronically via the National Treasury eTender Portal

(www.etenders.gov.za).

10.3 No physical submissions, hand‐delivered documents, or courier deliveries will be accepted.

10.4 No envelopes, packaging, or physical labelling requirements apply.

10.5 Late submissions cannot be uploaded after the closing date and time; the eTender Portal will

automatically prevent late uploads.

10.6 Bidders are responsible for ensuring successful electronic upload before the closing time.

Evaluation follows a four-phase process: Phase 1 – Mandatory Technical Requirements (pass/fail): SITA RFB 1183 accreditation and physical presence in Gauteng. Phase 2 – Rated Criteria (100 points total): Company experience in mainframe application maintenance (max 10 points), work plan/methodology (max 25 points), service delivery team experience (max 60 points: team lead and 3+ members with Natural/Adabas, Z/OS, VB6, contract management, finance/audit, and fraud analysis skills), and reference letters (max 5 points). Minimum qualifying score: 70 points. Phase 3 – Administrative Compliance: SBD 1, SBD 4, CSD registration, and tax compliance (TCS PIN or CSD number). Phase 4 – Price and Preference: 80/20 Preference System (80 points for price, 20 points for specific goals per PPR2022). SBD 6.1 must be completed to claim preference points. Non-compliant pricing schedules (incomplete/unsigned) will be disqualified.

Scope: Maintenance and support for CIVPEN Benefits Administration system (Natural/Adabas on IBM Z/OS mainframe), PEKWA ECM system (VB6/Oracle), Tax Directive system (Java/Oracle), Oracle BI Data Warehouse, Central Data Repository (CDR), and interfaces (Bankserv/PayInc, SARS, Persal, Persol, SASSA, RTMC, Department of Water and Sanitation). Services: 24/7 operational support, batch processing, after-hours job execution, system recovery, performance tuning, audit remediation, data integrity, legislative changes (e.g., 2POT), mainframe fail-over exercises, transition support to modernised solutions, and knowledge transfer. Required skills: Natural/Adabas, Z/OS, SYSPAC, ADASTRIP, COMplete, Visual Basic 6, Oracle databases, HTTP/S services, ERP systems, and SDLC compliance (PRINCE2/PMBOK). Deliverables include formal documentation, weekly/monthly/quarterly reports, and SLA performance management.

Project management methodology: Waterfall approach with phased implementation, clearly articulated milestones, deliverables, activities, and timelines. Required components for full points (25): Recurring services and project-related services, governance model, escalation matrix, reporting requirements for service delivery/management of delivery failure, and a detailed risk management plan. Change management, communication, and user training are mandatory. Project performance measured via approved charters, signed plans, progress reports, risk matrices, disbursement packs, milestone sign-offs, and user training/testing reports.

Organisational experience: Must demonstrate recent/relevant experience in maintaining large, mission-critical enterprise systems, including multi-fund defined benefit pension administration (General Ledger, Payroll, Taxation, Contributions, Legislative functionality like 2POT), legacy/modern systems (mainframe, distributed Windows), and enterprise content management/electronic payment/financial systems. Technical skills: Natural/Adabas, Z/OS, SYSPAC, ADASTRIP, COMplete, VB6, Oracle databases, HTTP/S services, ERP systems. Team requirements: Team lead + 3 members with Natural/Adabas/Z/OS experience; additional specialists for VB6, contract management, finance/audit/risk systems, and fraud data analysis. CVs must demonstrate qualifications and years of experience. Minimum 70/100 points required to qualify.

Quality and governance requirements: All activities must comply with GPAA’s System Development Lifecycle (SDLC) and Project Management Framework (aligned to PRINCE2/PMBOK). Deliverables include: requirements analysis, planning/design, development/configuration, testing (unit/integration/system/user), deployment, and post-implementation support. Reporting: Weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports, including detailed timesheets, to manage SLA performance. Documentation must be audit-ready. Business continuity and disaster recovery planning for mainframe/Windows environments, with high-availability and fail-over support.

Pricing Schedule (SBD 3.3) must be completed electronically in the provided format, printed, signed, and uploaded as a separate file labelled 'Pricing Schedule (SBD 3.3)'. Populate shaded rows digitally. Incomplete, unsigned, or partially signed schedules (including missing initials or blank fields) will be disqualified. Only financial proposals of technically acceptable bidders will be evaluated. SBD 6.1 must be completed to claim preference points under the 80/20 system.

Complete the prescribed SBD 3.3 Pricing Schedule electronically, print, sign, and upload as a separate file labelled 'Pricing Schedule (SBD 3.3)'. Incomplete, unsigned, or partially signed schedules will be disqualified. Only financial proposals of technically acceptable bidders will be evaluated. Pricing must align with the 80/20 Preference System (PPR2022). SBD 6.1 must be completed to claim preference points.

Mandatory: SITA RFB 1183 accreditation and physical presence in Gauteng. Tax Compliance: Submit Tax Compliance Status (TCS) PIN via SARS eFiling (www.sars.gov.za) or a printed TCS certificate. If no TCS PIN is available, provide a Central Supplier Database (CSD) number. Consortia/joint ventures must submit separate TCS/PIN/CSD numbers for each party. Complete SBD 1 and SBD 4 in full. Bidders must not be listed in the Register for Tender Defaulters or the List of Restricted Suppliers. No bids from state employees or entities with state-employed directors/members. Bidders must be registered on the CSD or ensure no directors are restricted from doing business with the state.

Environmental and transition support: Assist with transitioning the mainframe solution to a modernised system, including modular retirement of the current Benefit Administration solution. During parallel deployment, mainframe batch jobs will be executed and reconciled with new capabilities. Support includes addressing audit report queries, resolving audit findings, and mitigating risks associated with supported systems. Manage licensing/service renewals for systems used in benefit administration, including contract management for mainframe technical support.

Tender validity: 120 days. Contract duration: 3 + 1 + 1 years. Services must align with GPAA’s roadmap for replacing the current pension administration solution, allowing for parallel operations during integration/deployment. GPAA will determine which services/applications are retired, continued, or integrated with the new solution. All source code remains the property of GPAA.

12.1 Phase 1 – Mandatory Technical Criteria

work/projects, which will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis. Bidders who fail to meet these

requirements are given no further consideration.

(Yes)

(NO)

Bidders must be accredited on SITA RFB 1183 (Business

Planning and Development).

the requirements of SITA RFB 1183.

Bids must be submitted to the GPAA on or before 06 July 2026

at 11h00 AM

Four-phase evaluation: Phase 1 (Mandatory Technical): Pass/fail for SITA RFB 1183 accreditation and Gauteng physical presence. Phase 2 (Rated Criteria, 100 points): Company experience (10), work plan/methodology (25), service delivery team experience (60), reference letters (5). Minimum 70 points required to advance. Phase 3 (Administrative Compliance): SBD 1, SBD 4, CSD/TCS compliance. Phase 4 (Price and Preference): 80/20 system (80 points price, 20 points specific goals). SBD 6.1 required for preference points. Non-compliant pricing schedules are disqualified.