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We know many members are experiencing challenges with the Civil Service Pensions Scheme at this time. We are sorry for any delays and frustration this has caused, and we want to be clear on what is happening and what we’re doing to put things right.
What has happened
Capita took over the administration of the Civil Service Pensions Scheme (CSPS) on 1 December 2025. As part of the transition, we inherited a significant volume of outstanding work from the previous provider, including a backlog of 86,000 work in progress cases. As a result of this there have been serious issues affecting members’ ability to access some services, including delays to pension quotes and payments for newly retired members, long waits on customer service calls, and difficulties accessing the portal.
We are doing everything we can to reduce this backlog and resume normal service levels, and are working closely with the Cabinet Office and HMRC, to resolve these issues as a matter of urgency.
What we are doing
We have taken immediate steps to strengthen the service:
- Dedicated teams are in place to work specifically on inherited cases to reduce waiting times as quickly as possible.
- We are prioritising cases where there are bereavements, members going into retirement and hardship situations.
- Increasing capacity – Capita has over 500 full-time equivalent colleagues working on CSPS. Across January and February, we are increasing resources to handle more cases and deliver better response times at the contact centre.
- Introducing new tools and features – Over the coming months, members will gain access to services such as Track My Case and Retire Online, providing greater clarity and control over their case and retirement options. 2025 Annual Benefits Statements will be available on the portal shortly.
We expect to restore service levels for the most urgent cases by the end of February, before full recovery of the remaining priority cases.
As we work through longstanding cases, members are likely to experience slower response times.
If your query is less urgent, we encourage you to raise an online enquiry via the pensions portal, allowing us to prioritise urgent cases through the telephone helpline. More details on this are included in the “Frequently Asked Questions” below.
Please be assured that if you are having difficulty accessing the portal or your details appear incomplete, your data is not lost. We are working to resolve these issues and will notify all members as soon as the portal is fully operational.
Our commitment
We know that delays are worrying for members. We take this responsibility and each case very seriously and are working closely with the Cabinet Office and HMRC to deliver the standard of service that members rightly expect, and we will continue to provide clear, timely updates as our work progresses. Once again, we sincerely apologise to those experiencing difficulties and are very grateful for your patience.
Frequently asked questions
1. When will the backlog be fully resolved?
- We are doing everything we can to reduce this backlog and resume normal service levels.
- We are rolling out new digital features designed to enhance member experience, with full implementation scheduled by the end of March. Throughout February, we’ll also be adding further features that will reduce wait times and give members increased control over their pensions.
- We encourage those with less urgent requests to raise an online enquiry outlining the issue via the pensions portal, allowing urgent cases to be prioritised via the telephone helpline.
2. What classifies as an urgent case?
- Death-in-service cases, ill-health retirements and hardship situations.
- Members awaiting their first pension payment, or those expecting a retirement or exit lump sum, as these payments are time critical.
- Bereaved families or representatives, including those notifying us of a member’s death.
3. What can I do if I have an urgent issue?
- We encourage members to use the secure mailbox in their pensions portal for case-specific queries as much as possible.
- Where phone support is needed, the helpline remains available. Due to high demand, callers will likely experience a significantly longer than normal wait time.
4. What can I do if I have a less urgent issue?
- We encourage members to use the secure mailbox in their pensions portal for case-specific queries as much as possible.
- You can raise a secure message via the portal and include a brief description of the issue.
- One of our specialists will assist you as soon as they can.
5. What can I do if I’m having problems with the portal?
- Our programme of enhancements for CSPS members is being rolled out in phases over the coming months. In time, this will streamline the administration process and offer more tailored support structures to members. In the meantime, there will be some functions within the portal that you will not have full access to.
- If you continue to have issues, please submit a query using the ‘Contact Us’ webform on the same site. This will allow us to triage your query without you waiting on the phone.
- If access is blocked, call the helpline, and your case will be created and tracked. You will likely experience a significantly longer than normal wait time.
- One of our specialists will assist you as soon as they can.
6. What can I do if I have submitted an online query but haven’t heard back?
- If you have made an enquiry though the portal and you still haven’t heard from us after 10 working days, we sincerely apologise.
- If this is the case and your situation is urgent, or if you are someone that cannot use digital channels, please call our phoneline.
- Additional dedicated lines exist for bereavement and financial hardship which members can find on the portal.
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