Privacy of Accounts
Last Updated: June 10, 2020
At The Employees’ Retirement Fund of the City of Dallas (referred to herein as the “Fund, us, we, or our”), we are dedicated to guarding the privacy of information entrusted to us as we maintain your retirement benefits records. Our privacy policy detailed below illustrates how important it is to the Fund that we partner with you to protect your privacy and security. By visiting, using or inputting information into our Website when accessing your account, you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this Privacy Policy, our Website Privacy Statement, and our “Terms of Use”.
Collection and Use of Information
In general, we limit the collection and use of your personal information to processing your requests and administering your retirement benefits. To serve you better, we may combine information you give us on our Website, including in the account portal (my ERF), with information you provide us through other methods.
We will protect the confidentiality of any personal information you share with us. The Fund’s policies forbid employees with access to confidential information from using or disclosing the information except for business use. All employees are required to safeguard such information. We never sell your personal information to anyone.
Sharing Your Personal Information
All information collected or maintained by the Fund is subject to the provisions of the Texas Public Information Act, Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code. However, information collected in the account portal is confidential and not subject to public disclosure as provided by Section 552.0038 (subject to limited exceptions). We will share your information with others for certain purposes, such as:
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We may share personal information with third-party service providers for purposes of data processing or storage.
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We may share your personal information with authorized third-party service providers in order to provide us with a requested service related to administering your retirement benefits.
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We may respond to subpoenas, court orders, or legal process by disclosing your personal information and other related information. We may collect and share personal information in order to investigate or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, or as otherwise required by law or by government and regulatory entities.
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Collection and use of information for authentication purposes is part of the login process for participants/beneficiaries registered to use the account portal on our Website. [A combination of authentication criteria such as your user information, transactional data, session surveillance, device fingerprint, IP information and pattern recognition may be collected and used by us.]
Browsers and Internet Security
Our security processes begin as soon as you log in to our website. Any time you enter or provide personal information in this website (such as a Social Security number, Username or Password), [we encrypt it using SecureSocket Layer (SSL) technology. SSL protects information as it crosses the internet. To support this technology, you need an SSL-capable browser. ERF Dallas’ site supports insert description, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher as well as Firefox 2.0]1.
Your Username and Password2
Your Username and Password are your private entry keys into your account. You should never share either item with anyone and you should change one or both periodically. You can change your [Username and/or] password at any time after logging in to this website and accessing your personal profile. Both Username and Password are case-sensitive, adding an extra layer of security.
The first time you access myERF, you will be asked to create a username and password. We strongly urge you to create a unique username and password that is not your Social Security number or any other personal information that is commonly used. Our login credential requirements are designed in a manner that keeps your security in mind. Account lockout protection and secure methods of login and password retrieval are available in the case that you have forgotten them.
Importance of Logging Off
Remember to log off of our website after you’ve finished accessing your retirement account. This helps prevent unauthorized access if you leave your computer and your session has not “timed out,” or automatically shut down. This website will automatically log you out of your account if there had been no activity within a specified amount of time.
About Cookies
To personalize your experience on our Website and to enhance security within the site, we may assign your computer browser a unique random number, called a “cookie.” Cookies enhance website performance in several important ways: they provide a secure way for us to verify your identity during your online session, they personalize your experience on our site, and they make your visit to our site more convenient for you.
Communicating with ERF Dallas
In our current environment, there have been growing concerns regarding fraudulent emails sent from retirement plan administrators or service providers to their users, often called “phishing” or “spoofing”. The Fund will never utilize your email address to send any type of marketing or advertisements. We may send emailed and mailed communications to you in response to your [Contact Us] request or to request feedback from you on that response. If you have chosen electronic delivery as the communications delivery method for your retirement account on our Website, then you may receive the following emailed communications3:
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Notifications that online statements are available; and
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Plan reminders, updates or notices.
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Plan print communications like newsletters, flyers, postcards etc.
Changes to this Policy
We reserve the right to change, supplement or update this Privacy Policy from time to time. You should periodically check our Privacy Policy to ensure that you are aware of the most recent version.
Contacting Us
If you have a concern about your personal or account information maintained at the Fund, or want to correct, update, or confirm your information, please log in to this website and send us an email by clicking Contact Us in this website. You may also reach us at retirement_fund@dallaserf.org. Alternatively, you may reach us by addressing regular mail to the following address:
The Employees’ Retirement Fund of the City of Dallas
1920 McKinney Avenue, 10th Floor
Dallas TX 75201