New Capita-run Civil Service Pension Scheme - problems (what a surprise!)

What__A_Shower

I too am waiting for the payment of my pension by end of April! Thought I would give the capita helpline a call and just see where things were, 2 hours and 5 minutes later I got through only to be told that as I had my lump sum paid in March it could take up to 2 months from the date of that payment for them to calculate my pension arrears and get this paid to me!

I'm getting different advice every time I call which is concerning to say the least.

I asked directly about the April deadline and was told that there may be some new information in the next update but that hadn't been made available yet.

I get the feeling i am being told any old rubbish when I call.

So basically I have no real idea when to expect payment.

ljayljay

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81971734#Comment_81971734

Yes, still had no communication after applying over 5 months ago. My retirement date is in less than 2 weeks.

Just as frustrating is that the task updates in February & March both stated that Capita would contact me by 10/4/26, suffice to say that date has come & gone & still heard diddly squat.

From reading comments on here I see no point wasting several hours of my time on the phone to be told something that will probably not materialise. Instead, I sent another secure message on their portal yesterday & will wait & see if that prompts any further action. Think I will also be writing to my MP soon just to formally register my disgust on how Capita were ever given the contract….again!

ljayljay

After further research I have now come across the information below in the portal. Pity this wasn't made clearer in their task updates. Looks like we also have to be mind readers to determine what they say & what they actually mean.

We previously communicated that we aimed to contact members who requested a retirement quote before 1 December 2025 by 10 April 2026.

We need to clarify that this was not intended to apply to all members. It applied only to cases where we needed to confirm a retirement date or request further information. If you have not been contacted, this does not apply to your case, and your application remains logged and is being progressed.

Thank you for your patience while we work through these requests.

Andy_L

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81964966#Comment_81964966

AIUI its a right old palaver to bid for one of these contracts & companies that haven't done one before look at the effort involved, the likely returns on effort & the chance of a PR disaster for stuff that, quite possibly, is outside their control & decided to not bother. Just leaving the "usual suspects" to apply

katejo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81971922#Comment_81971922

Wow! My retirement is just under 2 weeks away. I handed my notice in at the beginning of April, contacted SAUL to claim my pension and have just had confirmation that I will get my lump sum in early May and my first pension payment on May 22nd. I really feel for everyone tied up in this Capita mess.

hugheskevi

There is a useful recent update (13th April) in a Capita letter to the Public Accounts Committee at this link.

In particular, at Annex B at the end of the document Capita says:

• Members due to receive their pension priot to 1 December 2025 will be dealt with by the end of April (although many members in this position will be paid in May, which is the next payroll available)
• Bereavement and divorce cases will be back to the contractual Service Level Agreement by the end of May
• Quotes will be back to the contractual Service Level Agreement by the end of June. Taking into account time to consider quote, reply to quote, and the pension to be put into payment, pensions may not be paid until August.

That may be optimistic based on what a lot of members are saying about their personal cases, both here and on other social media.

It looks like the timeline now is on a monthly basis, and what remains to be done is either pushed forward to the end of the next month, or pushed out to an unspeciifed future date, for example all of the following are overdue and timing is now unspecified:

• Alpha Annual Benefit Statements 2025
• PCSPS Annual Benefit Statements 2025
• Annual Benefit Statements for years prior to 2025
• Retirement Modeller in portal
• Portal updates - Capita says that only 1% of members don't have access, but many are still reporting lost access (username or password suddenly unrecognised and can't be reset). Live Chat only seems to deal with portal access issues, with other queries having to go through the portal. Many report no answer to queries submitted through portal. Track my case seems extremely basic, and of little use other than to confirm the case is within Capita's system given it only says in progress or resolved. Uploading of documents seems problematic too (only one at a time, or limited size of document, or unable to upload anything at all).
• Interest on late payments, which will be paid separately to the arrears payment

Telephone wait times have worsened, with lengthy waits again occurring in April after a period of most calls being answered promptly. That might be a sign that things in general are not going well, resulting in more member chasing.

Based on anecdotal member reports, it looks like pension increases and P60s seem to be happening without delay. Payslips seem rather hit and miss though.

It is quite hard to get any definitive updates, with information being fed out variously to the PAC, through Angela MacDonald, through gov.uk, and on the portal. Once deadlines are missed, they seem to be largely discarded and forgotten about, rather than rigorously included in future updates.

McCloud looks to be a secondary thought now, with very little information beyond a 'mid 2027' due date.

Watching_The_Wheels

Nearly five months in and I got a ‘to whom it may concern’ cover letter today regarding the CSPS issues.

If I was picky I’d mention this is the third slightly different address they’ve used for me, and apparently it’s Aprol (sic).

Anyway, thank you Capita.

Shabbycat

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81972052#Comment_81972052

Thank you for posting this. As usual we get more information on this forum than on the portal.
So if quotations will be back to SLA timelines by end of June, when do you think I am likely to get my quotation if my retirement date is 19th May?? Thank you.

hugheskevi

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81972354#Comment_81972354

I don't think it is possible to make any plans the way things are. Targets and deadlines have come, been missed, and gone away.

But if we are to believe the current plans, they will be processing cases where quotes were requested after 1 December in order of retirement date and they haven't started on these yet. So it won't be anytime soon, with those cases planned to be caught up on during May and June. As long as they issued your quote on 30th June, they would have met the commitment. Alternatively, they could request further information from you around the end of June - as they would be waiting on something from you, it would probably not count toward the commitment requirement.

So whatever happens, I think it would be surprising to see anything before the second half of June.

Shabbycat

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81972453#Comment_81972453

I requested my quote in November so pre 1st December??? Mine should be a pretty simple case as I only have one period of continued service and no other complications. I’ve read that it takes about 10 days after they receive your signed option papers to process the lump sum. I will be able to return them immediately so theoretically I should get my lump sum by the end of July?? I won’t hold my breath.

Thank you for the info.