For more than a century, ACCG has served Georgia’s counties by providing advocacy and a growing portfolio of member services. Since 1968, its Retirement Services division has administered retirement plans for government employees across the state, overseeing more than $4 billion in assets across 110 pension plans and numerous defined contribution plans.
As the organization expanded, the technology supporting one of its most critical functions, retirement benefit payments, became increasingly difficult to maintain.
The existing payment processing system relied on aging technology written in dBase4 and operated on a virtual Windows XP environment. Reliance on a single employee to operate the system created operational risk and limited the firm’s scalability as participant volumes increased.
“As leadership shifted and even simple updates became increasingly difficult, it was clear we needed a modern, reliable solution,” said Kale Hodges, Director of Retirement Services.
Building the Right Solution
While implementing a new retirement administration system in 2017, ACCG began evaluating payment-processing solutions to support its long-term operational goals.
Throughout the evaluation, Hodges repeatedly heard the same recommendation from banks and trust companies across the industry.
“I kept calling banks and trust companies to ask what they used for payment processing, and the same name kept coming up,” Hodges recalled. “That told me everything I needed to know before we even sat down for a demo.”
After a collaborative planning and demonstration process, ACCG selected SS&C Black Diamond® Wealth Solutions and its Paying Agent Services to modernize the company’s payment operations. The implementation team worked closely with ACCG to tailor the solution to its operational requirements and ensure a smooth transition.
Delivering Reliable Payments at Scale
The implementation was completed in approximately four months, and it transformed ACCG’s retirement payment operations.
The organization transitioned from paper checks to 99.99% direct deposit, significantly improving payment reliability, and streamlining operations for staff and participants.
At implementation, ACCG processed approximately 8,000 to 9,000 monthly retirement payments. Today, it processes more than 14,000 monthly payments totaling more than $15 million, all while maintaining consistent performance as the retirement program continues to expand.
“We’ve grown pretty dramatically, and the system has never missed a beat,” Hodges said. “That kind of consistency is everything when you’re responsible for people’s retirement income.”
Beyond payment processing, ACCG credits Black Diamond with improving tax reporting, providing an intuitive user experience, and delivering responsive support throughout its partnership.
Years after implementation, ACCG also continues to hold regular touch-base meetings with the Black Diamond team. “Seven or eight years after go-live, we’re still having monthly calls with the team,” Hodges said. “That level of support isn’t something you find with every vendor.”
Foundation for Future Growth
Over the past seven years, ACCG has successfully expanded its retirement services, adding 15 new retirement plans and an additional ASO client without disrupting operations.
Participants receive timely retirement payments, staff benefit from an intuitive web portal, and technical questions are resolved quickly through the partnership with the Black Diamond team. “This system has been a game changer for our back office,” Hodges said. “Our staff finds the portal intuitive, our participants get paid on time, and whenever something comes up, the response is fast.”
What began as a necessary replacement for an aging, single-person-dependent payment system has evolved into a scalable operational foundation that supports ACCG’s continued growth while helping ensure Georgia’s public employees receive accurate retirement benefits each month.
To learn how SS&C Black Diamond Wealth Solutions can help modernize your payment operations and support continued growth, request your personal demo, call 1-800-727-0605, or email info@sscblackdiamond.com today.
