How To Claim For A Pension Data Breach

If your personal data has been compromised in a pension data breach, you may be wondering if you could claim compensation. 

Pension data breach

Pension data breach claims guide

If this is the case, you might have the following questions: 

  • What constitutes a personal data breach?
  • How do I make a personal data breach claim?
  • Can psychological injury claims be made without sustaining monetary losses? 

This guide will aim to answer all of those questions while also looking at specific data breach compensation examples. We will also discuss the evidence you could collect in order to help strengthen your claim and the legislation that is in place to protect the personal data of UK residents.

Our advisors can help you with any questions you might have about making a pension data breach claim when you get in touch today. Not only can they offer free legal advice, but they can also tell you if your claim is valid. If it is, they may connect you with a solicitor on our panel. To learn more:

Choose A Section

  1. Claiming For A Pension Data Breach – A Guide
  2. When Can You Claim For A Pension Data Breach?
  3. Evidence That Could Help You Receive A Data Breach Payout
  4. Pension Data Breach – What Compensation Could You Receive?
  5. Advantages Of Using Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitors
  6. Learn More About Claiming For A Data Breach

Claiming For A Pension Data Breach – A Guide

A pension data breach is a security incident that impacts the integrity, confidentiality, or availability of personal data. Personal data is information that can be used to identify a person, For example, your name, address, email address or bank details. 

A data controller determines the purposes and means of the processing of your personal data. A data processor then processes this data by following the controller’s instructions.  The data subject is the person to which the data refers.

Organisations must adhere to the rules outlined in the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) as well as the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) when processing the personal data of UK residents. Failure to do so, resulting in your data being breached, could result in a claim. 

However, not all breaches of data may make you eligible data breach claim. For instance, the data controller or processor might have the necessary cyber security systems in place, but a hacker could still gain access to their files. In this case, you may not be able to claim. You must also suffer harm as a result of the breach in order to claim.

If you would like more information on when you can claim for a pension data breach, please contact our team of advisors. 

When Can You Claim For A Pension Data Breach?

As previously mentioned, you may be entitled to claim for a pension data breach if there is wrongful conduct on behalf of the data controller or processor.

Examples of scenarios that may result in a data breach compensation claim can include:

  • Your pension provider sending your personal details to the incorrect person via email
  • An employee could verbally disclose personal information, such as debit card or credit card details, over the phone without conducting adequate security checks
  • Your employer sending confirmation of your pension contributions to the incorrect home address despite having your correct information

If you have been involved in an incident similar to the examples provided above, you could be eligible to claim. Contact a member of our team for more information. 

Evidence That Could Help You Receive A Data Breach Payout

If your personal data is compromised in a personal data breach, you can contact the organisation responsible directly. They may be able to offer more information. For example, they may be able to explain how the breach occurred or what data was involved.

If you do not receive a satisfactory response within 3 months, you can approach the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and make a complaint. The ICO is an independent organisation responsible for enforcing data protection laws. 

You can also seek evidence to help you strengthen your claim. This can be done alone or with the help of a solicitor. Some examples of evidence that you could use to help strengthen your claim include:

  • Correspondence between you and the data controller or processor, such as a notification letter
  • Medical records that show any psychological injuries you may have sustained as a result of the breach
  • Receipts, invoices, bank statements or credit score ratings that show the financial losses sustained because of the breach

Our advisors are on hand to answer any questions you may have about making a pension data breach claim.

Pension Data Breach – What Compensation Could You Receive?

If your claim is successful and you receive a data breach payout, it may consist of two heads of claim. 

Firstly, you might receive non-material damage for the mental injuries you may sustain as a result of the data breach. Such as distress, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder. 

In place of a data breach compensation calculator, we have put together a table using compensation amounts taken from previous court cases. However, these figures should only be used as a guide. These figures are provided by the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG helps solicitors value compensation claims.

Injury SeverityCompensation BracketDetails
Mental harm Severe£54,830 to £115,730The injury causes hardship dealing with life after an unsuccessful treatment, causing a significantly negative prognosis.
Mental harm Moderately Severe£19,070 to £54,830Severe problems coping with everyday life, though the prognosis is better than in the case above.
Mental harm Moderate£5,860 to £19,070A marked improvement of symptoms allows a better prognosis.
Mental harm Less Severe£1,540 to £5,860The payout for this bracket is based on the effect on daily activities and how long symptoms are present.
Anxiety disorder Severe £59,860 to £100,670Includes permanent symptoms that prevent the injured party from taking part in everyday normalities or functioning at anything close to the pre-trauma level.
Anxiety disorder Moderately Severe£23,150 to £59,860A better positive prognosis will be achieved after receiving medical help.
Anxiety disorder Moderate£8,180 to £23,150Regardless of the injured party making a large recovery, they will still face some non-disabling symptoms.
Anxiety disorder Less Severe£3,950 to £8,180An almost full recovery has been made within a 1-2 years of the incident, with the only symptoms that continue being minor.

When Can You Claim For Material Losses In A Data Breach Claim?

You could also be awarded material damage for any financial losses incurred due to the data breach. 

For instance, several loans could be taken out in your name after your bank details were exposed. Subsequently, this could leave you in debt and arrears and have an impact on your credit score. 

It is important to keep a record of all financial losses in order to be reimbursed for them. For a more detailed analysis of how much compensation you could be owed, speak with an advisor from our team. 

Advantages Of Using Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitors

One of our panel’s solicitors may represent you via a No Win No Fee agreement. They can use their vast experience to cover all areas of your pension data breach claim. 

With a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), you gain access to legal representation for your claim without having to pay any upfront or ongoing fees. The only fee you are required to pay under a CFA is a success fee if your claim succeeds. But, if your claim does not succeed, you will not pay this fee. 

If you would like to discover whether you are entitled to be represented on a No Win No Fee basis following a pension data breach, get in touch today.

Contact Us For Free 24/7 To See If You Can Receive A Data Breach Payout

An advisor from our team can help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They may also put you in touch with one of our panel’s solicitors if you have an eligible claim, and can provide free legal advice when you get in touch:

 Learn More About Claiming For A Data Breach

We have included further reading relative to data breach claims:

Additionally, here are some of our own guides that may be useful if you are still wondering how to report a data protection breach: 

Thank you for reading our guide on the steps you can take if you have been subject to a pension data breach.

Writer Megan Riddle

Editor Cat Hunt