Thousands of retired civil servants are facing a "dire" situation as they wait for their pension payments, with many on the brink of financial disaster. Alison Williams, 66, from Jarrow, is just one example – she's received only two small, unexplained payments from her employment pension and has been left reliant on her husband's continued income to meet mortgage payments.
The problems began when Capita took over the Public Service Pensions Scheme in December last year, replacing MyCSP. The company admits its service has "not been good enough" and apologised for the distress caused – but a missed deadline for improvement means many retirees are still waiting.
Figures from the Cabinet Office show that around 6,700 individuals who have retired are still awaiting their pension quotation, while some 7,600 families are due bereavement benefits. The scale of the issue is stark, with Capita initially stating it would achieve a normal level of service by September this year – three months after a June deadline set by the government.
Capita inherited a backlog of 86,000 cases when it took over, significantly more than expected, and this swelled to 120,000 within months. MyCSP has disputed these figures, saying only 36,000 cases were related to key service levels – but the reality for individuals like Alison Williams is clear: they're waiting.
A Cabinet Office 'recovery taskforce' was established in January last year to address the crisis, deploying auditors to review Capita's systems and processes. The company will be required to fund a remedial adviser to improve its service – but for those affected, the wait continues, with no clear indication of when their full pension will be paid or when they can finally retire.