Privacy policy

How we will use your data

Pension Works (“We”) are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

This policy (together with our terms of use and any other documents referred to on it) sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us. Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it. By visiting https://www.pensionworks.co.uk you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this policy.

Data Protection

Collecting information and protecting your privacy

Our aim is to offer advice that helps you plan your financial future. To provide such advice, we need to know about your personal situation and your Adviser may request sensitive and private information about you, for example, your income, current financial arrangements, health, family commitments and any legal proceedings you may be involved in.

You can withhold any information that you do not wish to disclose to us, but if you are unable or unwilling to provide some, or all, of this information, it may affect your Adviser’s ability to provide you with advice suitable for your circumstances.

Much of the information you provide will, as part of any application, be passed to the company whose products you apply for and details of how they use your information are included in their data protection literature.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and assure you that we will keep your personal information confidential and secure and only for as long as is necessary. You can obtain the criteria we use to determine how long this period is from our Data Protection Officer at the address below.

We will use it with care and it will only be shared in the ways explained here, or if we are required to by Law or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Your personal information will only be held for as long as necessary and collected for the purposes of providing advice in respect of the range of products and services outlined in our Client Brochure and Terms of Business.

In addition, we will make every effort to ensure that the information you provide is recorded accurately and that it is only passed to companies who comply with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

In the unlikely event that we need to send your information abroad, we will only do so to countries within the European Union (EU) or to a third country that the EU has determined provides an adequate level of protection and where you are able to exercise your rights to access your personal information under the GDPR.

Controlling and using your personal information

A Data Controller is someone who determines the purposes for and the manner in which your personal data should be processed. Pension Works, its Appointed Representatives (your Adviser) and the companies whose products you buy are all Data Controllers. Our contact details are shown below.

We use your information in a variety of ways:

  • To obtain information about your existing assets and arrangements, and to give personalised advice on your financial planning needs.
  • To introduce you to a range of products and services offered by the various product providers and other companies we deal with.
  • To help with administration.
  • We may need to pass your personal data on to other third party service providers who are contracted to us in the course of dealing with you.
  • To contact you with details of changes to products you have bought.
  • For business analysis and research.
  • For marketing products and services we think may be suitable for you (unless you ask us not to send you this information).
  • To comply with the Law and/or FCA requirements.
  • To verify your identity by searching publicly available records held by credit reference agencies.
  • To prevent fraud and money laundering we may pass your details to other companies, public bodies including the police or to an insurer’s database. Insurance companies can search databases for any relevant information that exists about you.
  • We may contact you to help us comply with our regulatory obligations and to protect your best interests, e.g. checking that our advice has been correctly implemented and any recommendations maintained.

We therefore process your data because it is necessary for:

  • the performance of a contract to which you are a party.
  • compliance with legal obligations to which we as the controller are subject.

None of the information gathered about you will be used in automatic decision making.

We use your information collected from our website to personalise your repeat visits to our website.

Your health details

If you apply for an annuity or some types of insurance (e.g. life insurance, pensions, etc.) you will be required to provide details of your health. For an annuity, this information could entitle you to a higher level of income than you would otherwise receive.

Under the GDPR, this is regarded as sensitive personal data. Your Adviser will have access to your medical details unless you prefer to complete a medical statement of health in private. If this is the case, please send it with your application marked for the attention of the “The Data Protection Officer” in a sealed envelope.

We do need your explicit consent to collect and process your health details, which of course you may withdraw at any time, although by doing so we may no longer be able to act in your best interests.

Marketing and sharing your information

The information you give us will be added to any other details we hold about you. Pension Works will never sell your details to a third party, but we may share your information with carefully selected companies we are associated with. Therefore, we (or they) may contact you (by post, email, telephone or other appropriate means) to tell you about products, services or offers we believe may interest you. The products and services may not be related to financial services.

You can ask us not to contact you for this reason, at any time, by writing to us at our Head Office. This will not affect your relationship with your Adviser.

We may have to pass your details to another Adviser if, for example your Adviser is ill or you need advice in a different product area. If your Adviser leaves we may pass your details to another Adviser so that we can continue to provide you with a high standard of service.

We may send your information to third parties that are carrying out work on our behalf.

You have a right at any time to stop us from contacting you for marketing purposes. If you no longer wish to be contacted for marketing purposes, please email info@pensionworks.co.uk.

Other websites

Our website contains links to other websites. This privacy policy only applies to this website, so when you link to other websites, you should read their privacy policies.

Cookies

Cookies are text files placed on your computer to collect standard internet log information and visitor behaviour information. This information is used to track visitor use of the website and to compile statistical reports on website activity. For further information visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org

You can set your browser not to accept cookies, and the above website tells you how to remove cookies from your browser. However, in a few cases, some of our website features may not function as a result.

Your Data Protection rights

You have certain rights under the GDPR. These include the right to:

  • Ask for a free copy of your personal information in a portable format.
  • Stop us sending you marketing material about products and services.
  • Have any incorrect information we hold about you corrected.
  • Ask us to restrict processing of your personal data.

As the processing of your personal information is necessary for a legal obligation placed upon us by the Financial Conduct Authority and may be required for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, we will not be able to permanently delete your personal information until the end of the period we have deemed necessary.

We are required by the Financial Conduct Authority to keep your data for at least five years or indefinitely in the case of Defined Benefit pension transfers. We will also keep your data while you are receiving our Ongoing Advice Service.

How to get more information

If you would like further details on how we use your personal information or if you have any data protection queries, please write to:

The Data Protection Officer
Pension Works Limited
Booths Park 5
Chelford Road
Knutsford
Cheshire
WA16 8GS

By email: info@pensionworks.co.uk
Or call us on: freephone 0800 756 1288

You may receive more information about data protection from the companies that we have introduced you to.

We record telephone calls for quality and monitoring purposes. This allows us to check we have provided you with suitable advice, that we have acted on your instructions correctly and to ensure we are giving you an appropriate service. We may also monitor calls for security and training purposes.

Complaints
If you have any complaints about the way we or your Adviser have handled your personal information, please contact the Data Protection Officer at the address given above.

You also have the right to refer your complaint to the Information Commissioner.

Changes to our privacy policy

We keep our privacy policy under regular review, and we will place any updates on this website. This privacy policy was last updated on 27 March 2024.