Missing Civil Service pension

adviceisgood

Hi,
If it helps we went through a similar problem with the Met for a civilian pension (Classic) when my wife left the service in 2005, unfortunately it was a very long winded process that took well over 18 months of pestering/complaints and then contacting the head of HR of the Met to progress the complaint.

We started with a pension statement that was dated in 2005 so were fortunate in having some documentary evidence and this gave us a figure to aim for.

We contacted Capita who denied any knowledge of the pension despite the pension statement coming from them!!

We checked the NISPI who provided details of pension scheme and employment history.

We then started on Civil Service Pension who took over the admin from Capita and they tried to assist us however they could not progress the matter until the Met provided pay and employment details, these were requested a number of times and there was no response to any of their requests from the Met ,these request were via their own pension admin systems so we had no sight of them.

We then took the steps to contact the head of HR at the Met who then passed our complain to the head of pensions and they started to progress the matter and historic pay details were forwarded to MYCSP. which was a good start however :(these details were not the same as the Pension statement we held)

These figures were disputed and the Met supplied new figures and the pension figure was eventually similar but not the same so this was again questioned and we supplied original payslips  and then the Pension statement figures came back identical to the original from my MyCSP.

So we got there eventually and we now have an updated pension statement dated 2023 that is identical to the 2005 one.

All very long winded and frustrating but if I was you I would contact MYCSP who were very helpful and get them to request your pay details from the met, if no progress,I would then contact the Met at the highest level and ask them to forward your historic pay details to MyCSP (they will give you a reference/contact name)

Once MyCSP get the pay details they will provide you a Pension statement but they will not provide anything to you until the Met give them the figures regardless of any paperwork you hold.

Good Luck but stick at it.

xylophone

We contacted Capita who denied any knowledge of the pension despite the pension statement coming from them!!

That bodes well for the future........

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80532238/#Comment_80532238

hugheskevi

xylophone said:

We contacted Capita who denied any knowledge of the pension despite the pension statement coming from them!!

That bodes well for the future........

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80532238/#Comment_80532238

In fairness, it sounds like Capita may well have been contacted after they ceased to be the administrator for the scheme, so I wouldn't expect them to have retained any member records/information (indeed, you would be quite concerned if they had).

xylophone

 it sounds like Capita may well have been contacted after they ceased to be the administrator for the scheme, so I wouldn't expect them to have retained any member records/information (indeed, you would be quite concerned if they had).

Then with a copy of the 2005 statement (produced by them!), it was beyond the wit of man  at least to confirm when administration of this pension had passed to  the new administrator ?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80532320/#Comment_80532320

Before 2011, civil service pensions were managed by the government’s in-house pension body, with calculations and payments made by Capita. In 2011, MyCSP became the biggest public sector body to spin out from central government as a mutual venture. At the time, then-Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said that as a mutual, MyCSP would deliver better services for its pension scheme members. “We are transforming a neglected back-office operation into a new competitive and responsible business – the rest of the world is watching,” he said.

With regard to MyCSP,, the OP may count himself fortunate to have obtained assistance from them - from article written in 2016.

https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2016/feb/11/mycsp-government-pension-scheme-civil-service

Three-quarters of civil service pension records are wrong or missing

Government watchdog blames lack of data and bad governance for poor performance by MyCSP and delays in payments for thousands of pensioners

I cannot help but wonder why the Met Records remained with the Met rather than having been supplied to the Administrator of the Pension Scheme.

Given that they were however, it is unacceptable that obtaining these records could not be achieved in a timely fashion.

And as for people unfortunate enough to be expecting their pension to come into payment yet receive no payment.....

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6498679/mycsp

I have long come to the conclusion that efficiency and competence in quasi governmental or governmental agencies has long been sadly lacking - I was not at all surprised by this

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-12970489/HMRC-gold-standard-total-shambles.html

Over a number of years I had to deal with three or four HMRC offices on matters relating to pensions/trusts/ IHT etc - it was possible either to speak to/arrange to be contacted by a  member of staff who was actually trained and experienced in the area in question - now however......

adviceisgood

Hi,
I can only say good things about MyCSP I had one point of contact there who was excellent ,answered all the questions I asked (and there were many) and gave me advice on how to best proceed.

I know they get lots of stick but Ian from My CSP was a great help.

xylophone

Hi,
I can only say good things about MyCSP I had one point of contact there who was excellent ,answered all the questions I asked (and there were many) and gave me advice on how to best proceed.

Which is good to hear but the person in question was simply doing the job he is paid to do with competence and efficiency.

Now read this post from a member of the NHS Scheme 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6499375/nhs-pension-complaint

I have been stuck in a ludicrous loop with NHS pensions since 2021. They recorded the dates of one of my pensions incorrectly. I challenged this at the time (8 years ago). I had a response from NHS Pensions at the time though when claiming my pension, it became apparent that they had failed to correct the dates on my record. This has led to £5000+ underpayment and if not corrected tens of thousands in my lifetime. 

The Practitioners NHS Pension team member apologised, then read my file and immediately saw the error. They sent me a new calculation and pension amount via email and promised that the pension would be remedied the next week. The figure for the underpaid pension was the same that I had worked out for myself. 

One week later, another NHS Pensions team member in the (Awards office) sent a very brief rejection letter and again reused the incorrect dates as justification. A further contact was promised. Over 2 months later nothing has arrived.

Frustratingly, my online record of service was in fact corrected by NHS Pensions after the telephone call. This is now consistent with the evidence provided. However, NHS Pensions has still failed to correct the pension calculation or agree to pay me the underpaid pension..

This is truly inexcusable.