Capita cannot hold an event for shareholders, investors and market watchers because it wants to focus on fixing the botched administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS).
The troubled scheme has already reduced the firm’s profits by £40m.
The outsourcer said its Capital Market Event, planned for 4 November, had been postponed to enable it to “focus on improving the service delivery on the Civil Service Pension Scheme contract”.
It said it will include an update when it announces its trading statement next month. “Alongside its regular trading update in December, Capita will provide a comprehensive update, including detail on the group’s new operational segments following completion of the disposal of the private sector contact centre business,” said a company statement.
It added that it is making good operational progress with the CSPS contract. “This includes the roll-out of new features and further planned upgrades, such as the launch of the retirement modelling tool, which is due to go live in the coming weeks,” it said.
“Capita recognises further improvement in service is required, and we are implementing further automation and strengthening governance, including improved management information.”
Alongside the Cabinet Office, it said it is working on a comprehensive recovery plan, “focusing on improving member experience and delivering operational stability”.
Pension disaster
In 2023, the Cabinet Office awarded Capita a seven-year contract worth £239m for the administration of the CSPS, which has 1.7 million members. The takeover from the previous administrator, MyCSP, took place on 1 December 2025.
Since it took on the contract, Capita has failed to meet its delivery promises, leaving claimants in severe financial difficulties. Thousands of retired civil servants are affected by the CSPS problems – some have waited nearly a year for their pensions, and at least one has been forced to use a food bank.
Capita has admitted it is set to lose money on the contract, with pressure mounting on the organisation, which is heavily reliant on public sector business, due to the government’s current insourcing plans combined with its much-publicised failures.
In January 2026, just a month after Capita took over from MyCSP and following a litany of problems, a troubleshooter stepped in from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to lead an “urgent recovery plan”, which included 150 staff being moved temporarily from HMRC to the service.
Disaster after disaster has now prompted the government to make the decision to bring the service in-house, but no timeline has been given.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson recently told Computer Weekly that the government is “actively shaping a long-term strategy to bring the pension scheme back in-house” – a statement repeated by Cabinet Office minister Sally Jameson.
What is now clear is that the government won’t let Capita flee without fixing a scheme it will inevitably lose. In the debate, Jameson declared her support for the government’s plan for the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation, but made clear that Capita cannot just walk away, leaving a mess.
“I want Capita to pay for their mistakes, not the taxpayers to pay for their mistakes. They don’t get to just walk away and do nothing about it,” she told MPs. “They need to pay for this, they need to get everyone their pensions, and then we’ll look at what needs to be done in terms of the viability of the scheme long term.”
Civil servant campaign groups are demanding the scheme is fixed before the government makes a decision about its future.
