A group set up to support civil service pension scheme (CSPS) members in difficulty has written to MPs and the National Audit Office (NAO) to offer support in ongoing investigations into Capita’s botched scheme administration.
Delays in paying pensions has forced at least one former civil servant to use a food bank as many struggle financially.
In a letter to MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (Pacac), the Civil Service Pensions Campaign group described Capita’s “systemic” failure.
The group, which represents thousands of retired civil servants, has also requested that the NAO take direct contributions to its current investigation from group members, who are all members of the CSPS.
Capita had a two-year period to prepare for the takeover of the administration of 1.7 million civil servant pensions, but since taking the wheel in December 2025, it has overseen a disaster.
Retiring civil servants have seen long delays in being paid their pensions, with some still not in receipt of them despite retiring 10 months ago.
About 4,000 emergency loans have been made to struggling members of the scheme, and people have died before receiving what they are owed.
MPs listening
In a submission to MPs on the PAC and the Pacac, the campaign group wrote: “This is a systemic failure. The evidence being reported to the Campaigns Group suggests that these problems can no longer reasonably be characterised as a collection of isolated administrative errors or particularly difficult individual cases.”
The campaign group told Computer Weekly: “Various Facebook groups dedicated to sharing [CSPS] experiences reveal the anguish and anger of claimants forced to rely on food banks, reliant on the financial charity of friends and family, and the sadness of postponed retirement plans.
“Some claimants have died whilst waiting for payment and bereaved relatives have endured months of contradictory guidance on claiming pensions,” it said. “Others have spent hours every week trying to obtain information from Capita call handlers who don’t appear to have access to the right IT systems and fob off callers with empty claims to “escalate issues”.
“Members report problems across virtually every part of the service,” it added.
The campaign group said these include longstanding unresolved cases, delayed retirement quotations, delayed pension payments, unresolved bereavement cases and problems with ill-health retirement.
Members have also complained of unanswered correspondence, unanswered portal messages, inaccurate and incomplete information, repeated telephone calls producing little progress, ineffective escalation, and limited information available to telephone agents.
The group added that MPs are struggling to get “meaningful answers”. “These are not simply administrative delays,” it said. “They have real financial and human consequences.”
One pension scheme member recently said they have been forced to use a food bank and take their car off the road.
Watchdog on the case
The NAO announced last week that it will investigate the status of the scheme, transition arrangements at go-live, how Capita has performed, and the impact on member experience. It will also investigate how the Cabinet Office has exercised its responsibilities for oversight of the scheme.
The group has written to the government spending watchdog requesting details of how it can contribute. “We ask the NAO to recognise the Campaigns Group as a stakeholder contributing direct member evidence and to agree a consultation process while the investigation is underway,” it said.
