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Privacy Policy

We're committed to protecting your personal information and being transparent about how we collect, use, and safeguard your data when you use Scholavithen's retirement planning services.

Last Updated: December 2024

Information We Collect

When you engage with Scholavithen's retirement planning platform, we collect various types of information to provide you with personalized financial guidance and improve our services. The information we gather falls into several categories, each serving specific purposes in delivering our retirement planning tools.

Personal Information

This includes your name, email address, phone number, postal address, date of birth, and employment details. We collect this information when you create an account, contact us for support, or engage with our retirement planning consultations.

Financial Information

To provide accurate retirement planning advice, we may collect information about your current financial situation, including income levels, existing pension arrangements, investment preferences, and retirement goals. This data helps us tailor our recommendations to your specific circumstances.

Technical Information

We automatically collect technical data when you visit our website, including your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, time spent on our site, and referring websites. This helps us understand how our platform is being used and identify areas for improvement.

Communication Records

When you contact us via email, phone, or our contact forms, we retain records of these communications to provide better customer service, resolve inquiries, and improve our retirement planning guidance based on common questions and concerns.

We only collect information that's necessary for providing our retirement planning services or required by law. You're not obligated to provide all requested information, but some data is essential for delivering personalized retirement planning advice or accessing certain features of our platform.

How We Use Your Information

Your personal and financial information serves several important purposes within our retirement planning ecosystem. We've designed our processes to ensure your data works for you, helping create more accurate projections and better retirement strategies tailored to your unique situation.

Service Delivery & Personalization

We use your information primarily to deliver personalized retirement planning advice and recommendations. This includes analyzing your current financial position, projecting future retirement needs, suggesting appropriate pension strategies, and providing ongoing support throughout your retirement planning journey. Your data helps us understand your risk tolerance, investment preferences, and timeline, enabling us to offer guidance that aligns with your specific goals.

Communication & Support

Your contact information allows us to respond to inquiries, provide customer support, send important updates about your retirement planning progress, and share relevant educational content about retirement strategies. We may also use this information to follow up on consultations and ensure you're receiving the support you need.

Platform Improvement

Technical data and usage patterns help us enhance our website functionality, develop new retirement planning tools, identify common user challenges, and create more intuitive user experiences. This information is typically analyzed in aggregate form to understand broader trends rather than individual behaviors.

Compliance & Legal Requirements

As a financial services provider, we're required to maintain certain records for regulatory compliance, conduct appropriate due diligence, and meet our legal obligations under UK financial services regulations. This includes maintaining records of advice given and ensuring our recommendations are appropriate for your circumstances.

Information Sharing & Third Parties

We take a conservative approach to sharing your personal information and only do so when necessary to provide our services, comply with legal requirements, or with your explicit consent. Understanding who might have access to your data and under what circumstances is crucial for maintaining trust in our retirement planning services.

  • Service Providers: We work with carefully selected third-party providers who help us deliver our retirement planning services, including technology platforms, payment processors, and professional service firms. These providers are bound by strict confidentiality agreements and can only use your information for specified purposes.
  • Regulatory Bodies: We may share information with financial regulators, tax authorities, or other government agencies when required by law or regulation. This is typically done to ensure compliance with financial services regulations or to respond to legitimate legal requests.
  • Professional Advisors: In some cases, we may share relevant information with qualified financial advisors, accountants, or legal professionals who are directly involved in providing you with comprehensive retirement planning services. This sharing only occurs with your knowledge and consent.
  • Corporate Transactions: If Scholavithen undergoes a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We would notify you of any such changes and ensure your privacy rights remain protected under the new ownership.

We never sell your personal information to marketing companies, data brokers, or other third parties for commercial purposes. Any information sharing is done with appropriate safeguards in place and only when it serves a legitimate purpose related to your retirement planning needs or our legal obligations.

Your Privacy Rights

Under UK data protection laws, including the UK GDPR, you have significant control over your personal information. These rights are designed to give you transparency and control over how your data is used in our retirement planning services.

Your Data Protection Rights

Access Your Data

You can request a copy of all personal information we hold about you, including how we're using it and who we've shared it with. We'll provide this information in a clear, understandable format within one month of your request.

Correct Inaccuracies

If any of your personal information is incorrect or incomplete, you have the right to have it corrected or updated. This is particularly important for financial information used in retirement planning calculations.

Delete Your Data

You can request deletion of your personal information, though we may need to retain some records for legal or regulatory compliance. We'll explain any limitations when you make such a request.

Data Portability

You can request to receive your personal data in a machine-readable format or have it transferred directly to another service provider where technically feasible.

Object to Processing

You can object to how we're using your personal information, particularly for marketing purposes or automated decision-making that significantly affects you.

Restrict Processing

You can ask us to temporarily stop using your personal information in certain circumstances, such as while we investigate a complaint about accuracy or lawfulness of processing.

To exercise any of these rights, simply contact us using the information provided at the end of this policy. We'll respond promptly and guide you through the process. There's no charge for most requests, though we may charge a reasonable fee for excessive or repeated requests.

Data Security & Protection

Protecting your personal and financial information is fundamental to our operations. We've implemented comprehensive security measures that reflect the sensitive nature of retirement planning data and our commitment to maintaining your trust.

Encryption & Transmission

All data transmitted between your devices and our servers is encrypted using industry-standard SSL/TLS protocols. This ensures that sensitive financial information remains secure during transmission and cannot be intercepted by unauthorized parties.

Access Controls

We maintain strict access controls ensuring that only authorized personnel can access your information, and only when necessary for providing our retirement planning services. All access is logged and regularly audited for compliance.

Data Storage Security

Your information is stored on secure servers with multiple layers of protection, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and regular security updates. We use reputable cloud providers who maintain high security standards and compliance certifications.

Regular Security Assessments

We conduct regular security audits, vulnerability assessments, and penetration testing to identify and address potential security risks. Our security measures are continuously updated to address emerging threats.

Staff Training & Awareness

All team members receive regular training on data protection requirements, security best practices, and how to handle personal information appropriately. We maintain strict confidentiality agreements with all staff and contractors.

Incident Response

We have established procedures for detecting, responding to, and reporting any potential data breaches. In the unlikely event of a security incident affecting your personal information, we'll notify you and relevant authorities as required by law.

While we implement robust security measures, we also encourage you to protect your own information by using strong passwords, keeping your login credentials confidential, and logging out of your account when using shared or public computers.

Data Retention & Deletion

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, meet our legal obligations, and provide ongoing support for your retirement planning needs. Our retention periods are designed to balance your privacy rights with practical and legal requirements.

Retention Periods

Active Accounts
While your account remains active and you're using our retirement planning services, we retain all necessary information to provide ongoing support, track your progress, and maintain continuity of service.
Inactive Accounts
If you stop using our services, we'll typically retain your information for up to 7 years to comply with financial services regulations and allow you to reactivate your account if desired. You can request earlier deletion in many cases.
Communication Records
Records of customer service interactions, consultations, and advice given are typically retained for 6-7 years to meet regulatory requirements for financial services providers and support any future inquiries.
Marketing Data
Information used for marketing communications is retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion, after which it's removed from active marketing systems within 30 days.
Technical Logs
Website usage logs and technical data are typically retained for 12-24 months for security monitoring and service improvement purposes, after which they're automatically deleted or anonymized.

When information reaches the end of its retention period, we securely delete or anonymize it using industry-standard methods. Some information may be retained in anonymized form for statistical analysis and service improvement purposes, but this cannot be linked back to you as an individual.

If you close your account or request deletion of your information, we'll honor that request promptly, though we may need to retain some records to meet legal or regulatory obligations. We'll clearly explain what information must be retained and for how long when you make such a request.

International Data Transfers

While Scholavithen operates primarily within the United Kingdom, some of our technology providers and service partners may be located in other countries. When we transfer your personal information outside the UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data.

Transfer Safeguards

Any international transfers of your personal information are protected by appropriate safeguards, such as adequacy decisions by the UK government, standard contractual clauses approved by UK authorities, or other mechanisms that provide equivalent protection to UK data protection laws. We regularly review these arrangements to ensure they remain effective and compliant.

Third Country Processing

When we use cloud services or technology platforms that may process your data in countries outside the UK, we ensure these providers maintain appropriate security standards and contractual commitments to protect your information. We only work with reputable providers who demonstrate strong data protection practices.

If you have concerns about international transfers of your personal information, please contact us for more specific details about the safeguards in place for particular services or data processing activities.

Cookies & Website Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your browsing experience, understand how our platform is being used, and provide personalized content related to retirement planning. We believe in transparency about these technologies and give you control over their use.

Types of Cookies We Use

  • Essential Cookies: These are necessary for our website to function properly, including maintaining your login session, remembering your preferences, and ensuring security features work correctly.
  • Analytics Cookies: We use these to understand how visitors interact with our website, which pages are most useful, and where we can improve the user experience for retirement planning resources.
  • Functional Cookies: These enhance your experience by remembering your choices, such as preferred calculation methods or display preferences for retirement planning tools.
  • Performance Cookies: These help us monitor website performance and identify technical issues that might affect your ability to access retirement planning information or tools.

Managing Cookie Preferences

You can control cookie settings through your browser preferences, though disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality. Most browsers allow you to view, manage, and delete cookies, as well as block them from specific websites. We provide cookie preference options where possible to give you granular control over non-essential cookies.

We don't use cookies for tracking across multiple websites or for building comprehensive profiles for advertising purposes. Our use of these technologies is focused on improving your experience with our retirement planning services and understanding how to better serve our users' needs.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services, legal requirements, or technology. When we make significant changes, we'll notify you through appropriate channels, such as email notifications to registered users or prominent notices on our website.

Notification of Changes

For substantial changes that affect how we collect, use, or protect your personal information, we'll provide at least 30 days' notice before the changes take effect. This gives you time to review the updates and make informed decisions about your continued use of our retirement planning services.

Minor Updates

For minor changes, such as clarifications, formatting improvements, or updates to contact information, we'll update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

Your continued use of our services after policy changes take effect indicates your acceptance of the updated terms. If you disagree with any changes, you can contact us to discuss your concerns or exercise your rights to limit or delete your personal information.

Questions About Your Privacy?

If you have questions about this privacy policy, want to exercise your data protection rights, or need assistance with privacy-related matters, we're here to help.

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +447859432758
Address: 16 Hodder St, Northampton NN2 8FW, United Kingdom

We aim to respond to all privacy inquiries within 5 business days and will work with you to address any concerns about how your personal information is handled in our retirement planning services.