Joint statement on Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS)

What has happened

Members have reported difficulty logging into the portal, incomplete pension details, long waits on customer service calls, and delays to pension quotes and payments. In some cases, this has caused financial hardship. When Capita took over administration on 1 December 2025 they inherited a backlog of 86,000 cases from the previous administrator, a significant proportion of which was already overdue. This led to higher than expected volumes of calls and complex queries which created further issues. 

This is not the service members deserve. Capita and the Cabinet Office are deeply sorry for the worry, frustration and distress this has caused - particularly for those dealing with bereavement or ill health.

What is being done

The Cabinet Office has asked Angela MacDonald, Deputy Chief Executive at HMRC, to lead oversight of an urgent recovery plan. Capita and Cabinet Office have agreed the immediate priority actions:

• Prioritising urgent cases. Bereavements, ill-health retirements and hardship situations are being addressed first.
• Additional resources. A surge team of over 150 additional staff is being deployed to Capita to support clearing the correspondence backlogs and speed up processing, bringing the total workforce to more than 650.
• Support for hardship. The Cabinet Office is working with departments to agree interim support measures for those experiencing financial hardship due to delayed payments.

Capita expects to restore service levels for the most urgent cases by the end of February, with full recovery of the remaining priority cases to follow. In addition to this ongoing activity, Capita is undertaking a distinct project to complete the outstanding work mandated by the McCloud judgement. This involves issuing benefit choices to approximately 74,000 pensioners and 21,000 deferred members. 

What members can do

Current civil servants will receive communications from their department about how to access support.

If you are experiencing financial hardship:

If you retired within the last 12 months, contact your former department directly for support.

If you left more than 12 months ago, or you are a long-deferred member, pensioner or dependant, please raise hardship concerns with Capita.

For other queries, long-deferred members should contact the helpline. For less urgent queries, please use the "Contact Us" form on the public website or via the pension portal.

Our commitment

Both Capita and the Cabinet Office take this responsibility very seriously and are urgently working together to put this right. Further updates will be provided as progress is made.

Catherine Little, CB Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service

Adolfo Hernandez, Chief Executive Officer, Capita

Media enquiries
Email: media@capita.co.uk

About Capita plc

Capita is a modern outsourcer, helping clients across the public and private sectors run complex business processes more efficiently, creating better consumer experiences. Operating across eight countries, Capita’s 34,000 colleagues support primarily UK and European clients with people-based services underpinned by market-leading technology. We play an integral role in society - our work matters to the lives of the millions of people who rely on us every day. www.capita.com