Update to Loan Interest Rate

Plan Loan Interest Rate Increases from 5.00% to 5.25%

The Dauphin County, PA Deferred Compensation Plan offers participants the opportunity to take loans against their account value.  So that you do not fall behind with your retirement income goals, you are required to pay interest on the loan.  The plan's loan interest rate is 1%+ the prime interest rate. The key point is that you are paying yourself the interest.  Essentially, you are acting as your own bank.  Below is more information on how the loan interest rate is calculated and the plan's loan provisions.

The Prime Interest Rate

You might have heard that the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) raised its Federal Funds Target Rate (Target Rate) recently.  The Target Rate is the suggested range of interest which one bank may charge another for overnight lending. Most recently, the Fed set the range at 1.00% to 1.25% on June 15. This is an increase of 0.25% over the prior Target Rate.  The Fed does not set the prime interest rate. However, once the Fed establishes the Target Rate, then U.S. banks take action to set the rate for their best or "prime" customers. Generally, a bank's prime rate is linked to the Target Rate and moves in lockstep with it. Each U.S. bank can determine its own "prime" rate that it offers customers. However, there is no central authority which sets "prime."

The loan interest rate is based upon the prime interest rate.  The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) publishes the prime rate, which is determined by surveying the thirty largest banks in order to come up with a consensus amount.  The WSJ reports changes to the prime rate when the surveyed banks have adopted a new rate, which occurred when the Fed raised its Target Rate in June.

Plan Loan Provisions

Any active employee may borrow money from his/her account for any reasonable purpose. Provisions of the loan program are as follows:

  • You may borrow up to half of your total vested account balance for any purpose, with a minimum loan of $1,000 and a maximum loan of $50,000.
  • The maximum number of loans a participant may leave outstanding at any time is two.
  • You may choose a repayment schedule of up to five years, except if the loan is used to acquire your principal residence (up to 15 years). All loans will be paid back through payroll deduction.
  • The interest rate charged on your loan will be 1% above the prime interest rate. All interest that you pay on your loan is credited to your account.
  • A one-time, non-refundable fee of $75 plus a $25 per year administrative fee will be deducted from your loan proceeds.
  • It may take three to four weeks to process your loan application, so plan accordingly.

If you have questions regarding the plan loan provisions, Contact Us.

2017 Q2 Tactical Model Report is Available

The quarterly report on the Tactical Models available in the Plan is available to download.  You can access it via the link below.  You can also sign up for the email list to have it delivered to your inbox.

The models will continue to have their maximum equity exposures, which are:

30% - Conservative Model High Risk Category Exposure

60% - Moderate Model High Risk Category Exposure

90% - Growth Model High Risk Category Exposure

There will be minor changes to the underlying funds for the quarter.  Fixed income (bonds) investments will remain the same.  High Risk Category investments (stocks) will have exposure to U.S. and International stocks and no exposure to material and real estate funds.

If you have any questions, regarding the models or your account, please contact us.

Protect you Identity with ID Shield

Dauphin County if offering a new voluntary employee benefit - ID Shield.  We feel that protecting your digital identity is important.  It starts with creating unique and complex usernames and passwords, changing them periodically and monitoring your accounts.  ID Shield helps with monitoring your accounts, and if your identity is stolen, they will help fix the problem.  Open enrollment is going on now.  Learn more by using the link below:

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.”

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.

This site is intended for the employees of Dauphin County.  It contains information on the Dauphin County, PA Deferred Compensation Plan, educational material, and investment and financial planning resources provided by Retirement Collaborative LLC.  In order to access the website content, please log in.  If you would like to access the Plan's participant website, select Access Account.  On the Plan's Participant Website, you will be able to view and make changes to your account.  If you have questions, please contact Retirement Collaborative LLC at 717-545-1447.

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