Blackout Period is Over

The transition from Alliance Benefit Group to Alerus was completed on September 13, 2016 at 4:00 PM.  You are now able to access the participant website using the links on this website or typing in www.alerusrb.com into your web browser.  Your login credentials will depend upon whether you previously established a User ID / Password on the Alliance Benefit Group participant website.

• Established User - You may log in with the same User ID / Password.
• Never Accessed the ABG Participant Website - Use your Social Security Number as your User ID and the last four digits of your Social Security Number as your Password.

In either case, they system will prompt you to create new access credentials following your initial log-in.

Welcome to Alerus

The transition of the Plan's recordkeeping services from Alliance Benefit Group North Central States, Inc., (ABG) to Alerus Retirement and Benefits (Alerus) is nearly complete.  Over the last few months, Alerus has mailed active participants information on the transition.  In the latest mailing they mentioned the following:

Blackout Period

There will be a brief blackout beginning at 3 p.m. Central Time on September 7, 2016, and ending at 3 p.m. Central Time on September 13, 2016. During this blackout period, the participant website will not be available and you will be unable to transact in your retirement account.

New Account Access Beginning September 13, 2016 at 4:00 PM

Starting Tuesday, September 13, 2016, at 4 p.m. Eastern Time, you will be able to log in to your account at , www.alerusrb.com, which will have an updated look and new features. Your access will depend upon whether you have previously established a User ID/Password on the participant website. 

• Established User – You may log in with the same User ID and Password.
• Never accessed the participant website? Use your Social Security Number (SSN) as your User ID and the last four digits of your SSN as your Password. 

In either case, the system will prompt you to create new access credentials following your initial log-in.”

Tactical Model Update

View 2016 Q3 Tactical Model Allocations

If you invest in or are interested in learning more about the Plan's Tactical Models, we encourage you to read this quarter's Tactical Forecast; which provides market commentary, discusses the investment process, and lists the quarter's model holdings. 

To learn more about the models, view the Tactical Model Page.

Transition from ABG to Alerus delayed until September

Black-Out Notice Date Change

You should have recently received a notice from ABG/Alerus stating that they are delaying the blackout period from mid-July until early September.  Below is an excerpt from their mailing:

"We previously contacted you with information regarding a “Blackout Period” for your plan. Blackout periods are used when moving data and other plan information from one computer system to another. It allows vendors a quiet period to complete and test plan data.

The original blackout period was set to begin at 3 p.m. Central Time on July 13, 2016, and end at 3 p.m. Central Time on July 19, 2016. The new blackout period will begin at 3 p.m. Central Time on Wednesday, September 7, 2016, and end at 3 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, September 13, 2016. You will continue to have account access via the same participant website through September 7, 2016. Then beginning September 13, 2016, you will log in to your account, which will have an updated look and new features.  We apologize for any inconvenience. Following is an updated Blackout Notice."

You can download mailer below.  If you have any questions, please contact your investment advisory representative, Stephen Hetrick.

Alliance Benefit Group is now Alerus

Alliance Benefit Group is now Alerus

In January 2016, Alliance Benefit Group North Central States, Inc. (“ABGNCS”), the current recordkeeper for the Dauphin County, PA Deferred Compensation Plan, was purchased by Alerus Financial, N.A. (“Alerus”).  Alerus will replace ABGNCS as the Plan recordkeeper. This was discussed in the May Benefit News Article.  Alerus is mailing information to every active participant and you should have or should be receiving it if you are a participant.  The recordkeeper is the company that provides the participant website, participant statements, keeps track of each participants shares in the underlying investments, and assist the Plan with keeping its Plan Document up to date.

What does this mean to participants?

Starting in July, there will be a new participant website, so there will be a different web address that you will use to access your account.  That should be the only major change you notice.  Your investments will stay the same and will transfer over from ABG’s platform to Alerus’s in mid-July.  All the information on your contribution rate, loans, investment allocations, etc. will transfer automatically.  To facilitate the transfer, there will be a brief black-out period of four business days – July 13th through July 19th.  This is detailed in the information Alerus has mailed.  We think you will like Alerus’s participant website and we expect that the transition to Alerus will provide enhancements to processing participant loans and distributions.