|
February 2009
In the course of providing actuarial, record keeping, and other administrative
services for our clients and their retirement and other employee benefit plans, we
receive participant information and related financial data from employees and
financial institutions in connection with such plans. This Privacy Policy establishes the
following guidelines for how McCready and Keene, Inc. and its employees are to deal
with any such information:
1. The use of information is specifically limited to those activities for which we
have been employed. Such information will be used to compile reports and
other materials, including the processing of plan benefits, as appropriate, in
connection with our services to the plan(s) and the participants to which such
information relates.
2. Computer files and hard copies containing such information are maintained as
deemed appropriate for providing ongoing services to the plans involved in a
manner reasonably designed to preserve their confidentiality.
3. The Company has a shredding policy and a contract with a vendor providing
shredding and certified disposal services for all materials containing client
information. This policy is designed to prevent inadvertent disclosure of client
information contained on discarded materials.
4. If the Company learns that any client or participant information is disclosed to
a third party without the client's permission, the Company will notify the
client of such breach and comply with rules and regulations related to this
matter.
5. Our records retention policy generally involves the retention of materials for
ongoing clients as long as they are deemed pertinent to those services. Some
older records are transferred from time to time to an off-site storage facility
maintained by a third party in that business. From time to time, we direct the
disposal of certain stored information that is no longer needed in connection
with our services. The storage facility has contracted to dispose of such
materials in a manner designed to protect the confidentiality of any client
information contained in the materials. The storage facility's security procedures
also ensure that such stored materials can only be delivered to one of
our authorized employees. When a client terminates our services, we will
retain records for seven years, and then such records will be disposed of in
due course in a manner designed to protect client and participant
confidentiality.
6. The names of representative clients may be used with their permission from
time to time as references in connection with our efforts to obtain new
business, but specific financial information on clients and their plans and
participating employees is not used for any purpose other than providing the
agreed services to individual clients and is not disclosed to anyone outside the
Company, except as required in connection with providing our agreed services
or as required by law.
7. Our Employee Manual emphasizes the importance of using client information
only in connection with providing our professional services. Employees are
prohibited from disclosing client information to anyone outside the Company,
except as required in connection with our agreed services.
8. We also will comply with any legal process that might require the disclosure of
certain client information. However, it is generally the Company's policy to
notify the client before complying with any request for production of
documents pursuant to subpoena or in any other legal proceeding.
9. We maintain internal security procedures with regard to our premises and our
computer systems to restrict access to any information provided to us so that
we can provide services for our clients, including their employees and plan
participants. Our policy applies to both active and former clients.
|