Cookies Policy

Who are we?

This is a data protection notice provided on behalf of the Trustee. We collect, hold and use personal information to help us run the Plan.

Contents of this notice

The Trustee is the data controller in respect of the personal information that we hold in relation to the Plan. Because we use your personal information, we have to provide you with certain information in order to comply with new data protection legislation set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

This notice contains information on:

the personal information we collect about you, what we do with this information and why we hold it.
who else we get personal information from and who else we share personal information with.
what rights you have in relation to your personal information and who to contact if you have any problems.

We have set out additional information on how and why we process your personal information, your rights under the GDPR, and third parties with whom we share your personal information.

Where can I get more information?

We also provide printed versions (including large print versions) on request.

This notice explains how the Trustee processes your personal information. Please read this notice (and any other privacy information that we send to you) so that you are aware of how and why we are using your personal information.

We may change this notice from time to time. Please visit this webpage or contact us in order to receive the most up to date version of this notice.

About your personal information

What information do we collect and process?

We collect and process your personal information because you are or were a member, or are or were connected to a member of the Plan. We also collect personal information if you contact us in connection with your membership of the Plan.

We collect and process the following categories of personal information about you:

personal contact details – names, titles, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses;
information about you – dates of birth, sex, marital status, dependents and next of kin;
payroll information – National Insurance numbers, payroll numbers, bank account details, tax status, salary and employment information; and
pension benefits – information about the pension benefits that you have accrued, investment choices and death benefit nomination forms.

What sensitive personal information do we collect and process?

We usually only ask for sensitive personal information when it is required to help us make a decision in relation to your rights under the Plan. For example, we may request:

health information / medical records – we may ask you to provide health information if you request payment of a benefit that can only be paid if you meet certain medical criteria (e.g. ill health early retirement benefits). In addition to receiving this information from you, we may receive medical information from third parties such as your doctor or a third party occupational health provider; or
other sensitive personal information – we may ask you to provide other sensitive personal information (e.g. information about your personal relationships) if it is relevant to help us decide on an internal dispute resolution procedure.
In addition, certain categories of sensitive personal information (e.g. race, ethnicity, religious beliefs and sexual orientation) may be revealed on formal documentation that we process in order to identify the recipients of benefits under the Plan (e.g. birth certificates, marriage certificates, driving licenses and passports). You may also decide to provide us with sensitive personal information voluntarily (e.g. when raising queries or making a complaint).

How do we collect your personal information?

When you joined the Plan, you and/or your employer provided personal details so that we could create your membership record. This information is updated whilst you are a member of the Plan, even if you have since left service with any of the Plan's employers. Updated information may come from:

you (e.g. if you get in touch to let us know a new address);
your employer or former employer (e.g. updated salary and payroll information); and
other third parties (e.g. if you contact the Plan's administrator to update your personal information or if HMRC provides us with information so that we can deduct the correct level of tax). In addition, we may request additional information in certain circumstances (e.g. if you request to transfer your benefits to another pension scheme, if you apply for ill health benefits or when you ask for your benefits to start being paid).

Why do we process your personal information?

We use this information to:

set up your membership record for the Plan;
manage your membership of the Plan;
send you information that is relevant to your membership of the Plan;
calculate, pay and settle any benefits that you are entitled to from the Plan;
comply with our legal and regulatory duties;
help manage risks and liabilities in the Plan in order to seek to be able to pay full benefits as far as possible;
help the Plan’s sponsoring employers comply with their legal and regulatory duties;
communicate with members and their independent financial advisers with information about the Plan;
and improve our information and knowledge of pension schemes generally.

What are our legal grounds for processing your personal information?

In order to comply with our legal obligations

As the Trustee of the Plan, we are under legal obligations to process your personal information in order to comply with pensions and other relevant legislation, the Plan's rules, court rulings and Pensions Ombudsman decisions. For example:

legislation sets out certain things trustees must do (e.g. sending certain information to the Plan's members); and
the Trustees are subject to fiduciary duties under trust law to act in line with the Plan's governing documentation.

It is necessary for us to process your personal information in order to comply with these legal obligations.

In order to fulfil our legitimate interests

Processing your personal information is also lawful if it is based on our 'legitimate interests'. The Trustees have a legitimate interest in running and managing the relevant Plan and managing the Plan's risks and liabilities. In addition, certain third parties may have legitimate interests which require the processing of your personal information by the Trustees (e.g. your employer may need information in order to comply with regulatory requirements).

In order to rely on this legal ground, we have:

considered the impact the processing has on your interests and rights; and
implemented appropriate safeguards to ensure that your privacy is protected as far as possible.

What are our legal grounds for processing your sensitive personal information?

There are three legal grounds that allow us to process your sensitive personal information (sometimes referred to as special categories of personal data):

when we obtain explicit consent from you (e.g. when you sign one of the Plan's forms which contains the appropriate consent wording);
when processing is necessary for carrying out obligations under employment, social security or social protection law. This includes obligations under pensions law; and
when processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest (which, under the Data Protection Act 2018, applies to certain processing by trustees of occupational pension schemes when making decisions about benefits).

What would happen if we did not collect and process your personal information?

If we did not collect and process your personal information then:

we would not be able to manage or administer the Plan appropriately;
we would not be able to pay the benefits that you are entitled to under the Plan; and
we would be in breach of our legal and regulatory duties.

How long do we keep your personal information for?

The Plan was set up to provide benefits over a very long time. The Trustee needs to maintain records in order to properly run the Plan, to determine who should receive what level of benefits and when they should receive them, and to respond to any disputes about an individual's rights under the Plan. As a result, the Trustees will generally keep your personal information for a long period of time i.e until the wind up of the Plan or the death of the last beneficiary, in either case, plus 15 years (which is the longest period of time that someone can bring a claim against the Plan). Our service providers (and former service providers) may also have similar valid grounds to keep your personal information for such long periods.