Tips on contacting MyCSP

asp746

trying to contact Mycsp is impossible.  I've been trying to get in my online account for weeks as it kept saying wrong username or password, i've rung but i'm a front facing CS role so difficult but i've tried a couple of times.  Found an email but heard nothing yet.  Talking around the office and on Reddit this seems a common problem.  It's so frustrating as i'm wanting to start planning as i'm 58 but can't get access to my own information.  

Marcon

JohnluckPicard said:

Ive been trying to contact them over the last few days by phone. Ive currently been on hold for 55 minutes. When i did get through to them i spoke to someone last week who had no idea what i was talking about and ended the call.

I cant see anyway of contacting them by email on the portal. Only by post or 'ring them'. Post? really?

Oh, I was going to make a complaint but the webpage does not load correctly on Edge or chrome.

What a shambles of an organisation

Have you tried their contact form: https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/#:~:text=You%20can%20call%20our%20specialist,below%20and%20complete%20the%20form.

michaels

asp746 said:

trying to contact Mycsp is impossible.  I've been trying to get in my online account for weeks as it kept saying wrong username or password, i've rung but i'm a front facing CS role so difficult but i've tried a couple of times.  Found an email but heard nothing yet.  Talking around the office and on Reddit this seems a common problem.  It's so frustrating as i'm wanting to start planning as i'm 58 but can't get access to my own information.  

If you lock out your password with three wrong attempts then password reset no longer works (you can reset but this does not unlock the account) and you have to phone up to get them to unlock (they seem to just ignore or never get to email or online requests)

This has been the same for years. A private sector organisation would have fixed the IT for Customer Service reasons or been forced to via complaints to the regulator and there is always the option to switch provider.  Public sector no regulation, no choice and the problem is never resolved and time is wasted by both the pension holder and the customer service team.

The admin of CS pensions is soon to move to Capita because they offered to do it more cheaply than the incumbent. Don't expect the customer experience to improve!

OldBeanz

contactcentre@mycsp.co.uk

Make a complaint. 

Refer them to your MP if you feel they are not responding in a timely manner

They are useless

Good luck.

ali_bear

michaels said:

The admin of CS pensions is soon to move to Capita because they offered to do it more cheaply than the incumbent. Don't expect the customer experience to improve!

Crapita. Brilliant   

Wobble101

i was in a similar position. I complained via my HR department and that did result in a response (though not a useful one!). 

michaels

Don't know whether to laugh or cry

I have locked my MyCSP account by getting the password wrong 3 times.  At this point their 'poor' IT means that even if you do a password reset successfully the account remains locked and you have to phone up to unlock it.

First call disconnected after 15 minutes

Second call connected after 1 hour, got to the 'your new temporary password is 'Abcdef...' and the call drops at that moment, 5 seconds longer and I would have been sorted!

hugheskevi

michaels said:

Don't know whether to laugh or cry

I have locked my MyCSP account by getting the password wrong 3 times.  At this point their 'poor' IT means that even if you do a password reset successfully the account remains locked and you have to phone up to unlock it.

First call disconnected after 15 minutes

Second call connected after 1 hour, got to the 'your new temporary password is 'Abcdef...' and the call drops at that moment, 5 seconds longer and I would have been sorted!

I think you can also get it reset via the help email listed at this link, portal@mycsp.co.uk.

It will take a while to get an email response though.

SimonSeys

hugheskevi said:

SimonSeys said:

Many thanks.  It’s the annual allowance that will cause me issues.  

 If they do decide to run VES, then hopefully it will be after my MPA and I can use it towards reducing the ERF of my Premium scheme

If a VES includes employer buy-out of actuarial reduction, that would only apply to an active member of the scheme, not someone in Partnership.

If a member buys out the actuarial reduction themselves (whether using an exit payment or not), all of the actuarial reduction in a scheme has to be bought out in full, there is no partial buyout.

@hugheskevi,

With apologies for reanimating this thread, and also for double-checking a true experts advice, but are you sure the buyout of VES actuarial reduction only applies to active members?

I was reading through the scheme rules (the long winter night fly by…) and D.3.(3) seems to apply to all members.  

—

Also am I right in thinking that rejoins alpha from June 26 to June 27 will mean that neither 2026-27 or 27-28 are complete scheme years and so don’t count towards the Premium 4-year calculation?

Hope your own retirement journey is going to plan?

Si

hugheskevi

SimonSeys said:

hugheskevi said:

SimonSeys said:

Many thanks.  It’s the annual allowance that will cause me issues.  

 If they do decide to run VES, then hopefully it will be after my MPA and I can use it towards reducing the ERF of my Premium scheme

If a VES includes employer buy-out of actuarial reduction, that would only apply to an active member of the scheme, not someone in Partnership.

If a member buys out the actuarial reduction themselves (whether using an exit payment or not), all of the actuarial reduction in a scheme has to be bought out in full, there is no partial buyout.

With apologies for reanimating this thread, and also for double-checking a true experts advice, but are you sure the buyout of VES actuarial reduction only applies to active members?

I was reading through the scheme rules (the long winter night fly by…) and D.3.(3) seems to apply to all members.  

To be clear:

• Any member when commencing their pension can choose to buy out an actuarial reduction using their own funds
• If a member has pension in two schemes, the schemes can be commenced at the same or different times. A member can choose to buy-out an actuarial reduction in both schemes, neither scheme, or just 1 of the schemes when using their own funds.
• To benefit from an employer top-up to cash exit entitlement, a member has to be an active member and the actuarial reduction must be bought out in both schemes. By definition, they will not get a cash exit award, as cost of buy-out exceeds cash exit entitlement.
• If a member's cash exit entitlement exceeds the cost of buy-out, that is treated as using their own funds to buy out actuarial reduction so they can choose to buy-out the reduction in both schemes, or just one scheme if they wish.

So if an individual is not an active member but is being exited, then all they are entitled to is a cash exit payment, and they can choose to use that cash to buy-out actuarial reduction in one or both schemes if they wish.

SimonSeys said:

Also am I right in thinking that rejoins alpha from June 26 to June 27 will mean that neither 2026-27 or 27-28 are complete scheme years and so don’t count towards the Premium 4-year calculation?

The treatment of rejoining and calculation of benefits is very complex. My understanding - which I wouldn't be quite 100% certain about - is that rejoining within 5 years of leaving means the deferred award is cancelled and you become active throughout the period when you were a member of Partnership. That means those years count as full scheme years despite you not being a member at that the time, and hence they are going to count as a full scheme year but with low or zero pensionable earnings.

In practice, the third leg of the Premium final pensionable earnings calculation (average of best 3 consectuive years in last 13) will take over and there is likely little difference, unless a member had abnormally high earnings in one year.

In all cases where it made a material difference, I'd be getting the treatment of rejoiners and calculation of final pensionable earnings under each leg confirmed in writing by the scheme administrator.

SimonSeys said:

Hope your own retirement journey is going to plan?

Pretty much - my wife and I seem to drifting toward retirement at some point in Spring 2026, depending on our exact exit dates from work.

The most frustrating thing is that until I get definitive dates I can't accurately model income, tax, and pension contributions in my spreadsheets, and prudence dictates a reasonable worst-case assumption be used, which is we both leave and are paid redundancy in this tax year. That scenario is fine, but one or both of us getting paid redundancy in 2026/27 would be much better (subject to Budget changes!).