Privacy Policy

How we collect, use, and protect your personal information

Last Updated: 25 February 2025

1. Introduction

At AnnuityRateCalculator.co.uk ("we", "our", or "us"), we are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your data when you visit our website or use our services.

We are committed to complying with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and other applicable data protection laws.

By using our website and services, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide to Us

We may collect the following personal information when you use our website or services:

  • Contact Information: Name, email address, phone number, and postal address when you contact us or sign up for our services.
  • Financial Information: Information about your pension pot size, retirement plans, and financial circumstances that you provide when using our annuity calculator.
  • Health Information: Information about your health status, medical conditions, and lifestyle factors that may affect annuity rates.
  • Demographic Information: Age, gender, and location information you provide when using our calculator or contacting us.
  • Correspondence: Records of your communications with us, including emails, phone calls, and form submissions.

2.2 Information We Collect Automatically

When you visit our website, we may automatically collect certain information about your device and your interaction with our website, including:

  • Technical Information: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device information, and other technology identifiers on the devices you use to access our website.
  • Usage Information: Information about how you use our website, including pages visited, time spent on pages, links clicked, and actions taken on our website.
  • Location Information: General location information based on your IP address.
  • Cookies and Similar Technologies: Information collected through cookies and similar technologies. Please see our Cookie Policy for more details.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

3.1 To Provide Our Services

  • To provide you with annuity rate calculations and comparisons based on the information you provide.
  • To respond to your inquiries, comments, or questions.
  • To fulfill your requests for information or services.
  • To provide customer support and assistance.

3.2 To Improve Our Services

  • To analyze website usage and trends to improve our website and services.
  • To monitor and analyze the effectiveness of our services.
  • To develop new features, products, and services.
  • To conduct research and analysis to better understand our users' needs.

3.3 For Marketing and Communication

  • To send you updates, newsletters, and marketing communications about our services (if you have opted in to receive such communications).
  • To inform you about changes to our services, policies, or terms.
  • To provide you with relevant content and recommendations.

3.4 For Security and Legal Compliance

  • To protect our website, services, and users from fraud, unauthorized access, and other security threats.
  • To comply with legal obligations, such as responding to legal requests and enforcing our terms and policies.
  • To establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information on the following legal bases:

  • Consent: Where you have given us explicit consent to process your data for a specific purpose, such as to receive marketing communications.
  • Contractual Necessity: Where processing is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.
  • Legitimate Interests: Where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests, such as to improve our services, prevent fraud, and ensure the security of our website, provided that your fundamental rights and freedoms do not override these interests.
  • Legal Obligation: Where processing is necessary to comply with our legal obligations.

For special categories of personal data, such as health information, we process this information based on your explicit consent.

5. How We Share Your Information

We may share your personal information with the following categories of recipients:

5.1 Service Providers

We may share your information with third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as:

  • Website hosting and maintenance providers
  • Analytics providers
  • Customer support services
  • Email and communication service providers
  • IT and security service providers

These service providers are authorized to use your personal information only as necessary to provide these services to us and are required to maintain the confidentiality and security of your data.

5.2 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your personal information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court or government agency).

5.3 Business Transfers

If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change in ownership or control of your personal information.

5.4 With Your Consent

We may share your personal information with other third parties with your explicit consent.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. The criteria used to determine our retention periods include:

  • The length of time we have an ongoing relationship with you and provide our services to you
  • Legal obligations we have to retain data for certain periods
  • Relevant statutes of limitations
  • Ongoing or potential legal disputes
  • Guidelines issued by relevant data protection authorities

When we no longer need to use your personal information, we will securely delete or anonymize it.

7. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

  • Encryption of sensitive information
  • Secure web protocols (HTTPS)
  • Regular security assessments and testing
  • Access controls and authentication measures
  • Staff training on data protection and security

While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection laws, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

  • Right to Access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
  • Right to Rectification: You have the right to request correction of any inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.
  • Right to Erasure: You have the right to request deletion of your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to request restriction of processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Right to Data Portability: You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and to transmit that data to another controller.
  • Right to Object: You have the right to object to processing of your personal information in certain circumstances, including processing for direct marketing.
  • Right to Withdraw Consent: Where we rely on your consent to process your personal information, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in the "Contact Us" section below. We will respond to your request within one month, although we may extend this period by up to two additional months if necessary, taking into account the complexity and number of requests.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues, if you believe that we have not complied with data protection laws.

9. International Transfers

We primarily store and process your personal information within the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area (EEA). However, some of our service providers may be based outside the UK and EEA, which means your personal information may be transferred to countries with different data protection laws.

When we transfer your personal information outside the UK or EEA, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to ensure your data is protected. These safeguards may include:

  • Transferring to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data by the UK or European Commission
  • Using specific contracts approved by the UK or European Commission that give personal data the same protection it has in the UK and EEA
  • Transferring data to organizations that are part of approved certification schemes, such as the EU-US Privacy Shield

10. Children's Privacy

Our website and services are not directed to individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child, please contact us, and we will promptly delete the information.

11. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the updated Privacy Policy on our website and updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

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