Sagitec Solutions, LLC recently won a bid to assist the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) in implementing a multi-year program the agency is calling "modernization."

Sagitec Solutions, LLC recently won a bid to assist the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) in implementing a multi-year program the agency is calling "modernization." The program's goal is to upgrade the agency's aging technology infrastructure and streamline business processes, while providing superior service to a growing number of members and retirees.

Sagitec's role is to partner with VRS in its business process reengineering efforts and to redesign its technical platform and automate processes. To facilitate this change, Sagitec established a program management office on-site at VRS. The project result will be a new Web-based solution featuring business-process and data integration with VRS-participating employers and VRS' service providers.

Sagitec will execute the program over 51 months, in multiple phases, with completion scheduled for 2013. "We are excited to be working with such a visionary client as VRS on this ambitious project," said Rod Sheppard, Sagitec Senior Partner. "When finished, the outcome will set new standards for the public pension industry in how technology innovation and business process reengineering can improve service without increasing operating costs."

"We realized a couple of years ago that we can't keep adding staff to meet this demand for service," said VRS Director Robert P. Schultze. "That's not the solution, whether you view it in terms of being responsible stewards of the VRS fund or serving customers who are accessing more services via technology."

According to Schultze, the ultimate goal of VRS' modernization program is two-fold. Members will be able to manage their benefits online, including simulating different retirement scenarios and applying for retirement. And, automation will free up staff for what he calls "high-touch" services, such as providing more assistance to beneficiaries and survivors when a member or retiree dies.

"We spent about two years researching the customer service issues as well as the solutions that are out there," Schultze said. "We selected Sagitec because we believe they have the people and tools to implement our vision for a modernized VRS."

In the last five years, VRS retirees have increased more than 25 percent, from 108,758 to 136,394. As with other pension systems, the wave of baby boomers will continue to drive that growth at VRS.

VRS, the 24th largest public or private pension system in the United States, serves almost 600,000 members and retired public employees of Virginia and their beneficiaries. Approximately 800 public employers, including state agencies, public colleges and universities, local public school divisions and local governments, participate in VRS.

Sagitec Solutions, LLC is headquartered in the Twin Cities (MN). The company has additional domestic offices in Denver, CO and Topeka, KS, and international offices in Pune and Chennai, India. Sagitec has been in business since 2004. Its client list includes public pension funds in the states of Kansas, Colorado, North Dakota, California, Virginia and Missouri.

Further information can be found at http://www.sagitec.com or by contacting Rick Deshler at (651) 335-3406.