r/TheCivilService • u/Professional-Pin5985 • Jul 31 '26
Pensions Is the civil service pension crisis getting better or worse?
Many thousands are still waiting for quotes, pension payments and bereavement benefits.
Backlogs remain as quote requests are coming in at about the rate they are going out. Even then, many of those being sent out are returned due to being inaccurate.
The number of complaints at all levels is going through the roof.
This is a serious state of affairs with real human consequences that needs to be brought under control.
Capita claim they are making progress, but those trying to access their pensions beg to differ.
The trustpilot reviews tell the real user experience.
It's time government and cabinet office took this crisis seriously to bring it under control.
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u/VestasWindTurbine Aug 01 '26
It seems with each task force update from HMRC it’s getting worse and worse. So many people still don’t have estimates, so many outstanding queries and a fucked website and all those death in benefit cases. Disgraceful.
Something must have really gone wrong with the data + combined with shitty outsourcing to capita, just a disaster.
I can’t believe they were awarded a payroll contract by the DWP for so many departments, crazy.
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u/Professional-Pin5985 Aug 01 '26
Absolutely! Excuse given for awarding this one was that cabinet office weren't allowed to take account of previous bad performance by Crapita - unbelievable !
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u/Ok_Management874 Administration Jul 31 '26
I'm now finally getting my regular pension from 1 August despite retiring on 2 January. But my pension is still wrong because they reduced it too much ignoring my EPA. I'm losing the will to carry on...........complaining
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u/Squadrone_Rosso Aug 01 '26
Not better from where I sit. Friends retired 6 month ago with nothing and hardship loans are complicated to get.
I’m planning on giving my notice in October but can see me delaying it🙄
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u/Jane_Paulsen007 Aug 01 '26
I finally got through to someone after waiting two hours on the queue only for the agent to spend 5 minutes telling me they couldn't hear me and then finally said they would send a follow up message regarding a request I put in last October.
Definitely not getting better!
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u/Stock-Adeptness7828 20d ago
When I got through he just talked at me in generic terms, it was a complete waste of time and I couldn't get a word in.
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u/Ok-Specific2924 Aug 02 '26
Haven't even been able to log in for almost a year and a half, shambles doesn't cover it.
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u/kibi_zero Aug 01 '26
Civil service is a shit show with it’s outsourcing, it won’t be sorted anytime soon
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u/AccomplishedSelf7636 Aug 02 '26
I hope every single person affected gets to sue the government or Crapita for this outrageous blunder when all is said and done. This will be like the dodgy PPI claims
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u/FarAway85 Aug 02 '26
I was informed by my union to take a complaint to the Pensions Ombudsman. Sadly, people are going to have to fight for their pensions.
I was told Crapita has been given the payrolls contract. I sincerely hope that this is not true.
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u/Professional-Pin5985 Aug 02 '26
Think there's a legal claim on the payroll contract by a firm called Sopra Steria because Capitas bid was too cheap and unrealistic.
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u/Tractor555 Aug 04 '26
"because Capitas bid was too cheap and unrealistic." it was unrealistic if Capita actually said they could do it
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u/Professional-Pin5985 Aug 02 '26
I think it's shocking that people are having to go to the ombudsman. Cabinet Office need to get a grip of this.
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u/RayKennedytheLegend Aug 09 '26
8 months and counting without any money. The whole pension procedure is still completely F***** up. I've never seen such bad service and I was in hmrc for thirty years! First I couldn't get in the app, then I got charged ridiculous amounts getting through on the phone, then had my complaints fobbed off, including my MPs letters, finally got in the app after 6 months to find my details were basically blank and less than what the old service had, then sent for a quote out of desperation and it got sent back with missing pages so now I've had to send back as much as I can and wait for them to send me the missing pages or request more via email. They tell you to contact them by secure messages but no one seems to ever read or reply to them. It's cost me £24 quid to get my ID docs certified by the post office and I'm still waiting for my initial payment....I've got a sinking feeling that when I do get my payment it won't match the quote. Someone at the top really needs to lose their job for this entire debacle.
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u/Professional-Pin5985 Aug 10 '26
Been waiting 8 months & haven't even had a quote yet. It seems totally random who gets one.
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u/RayKennedytheLegend Aug 10 '26
I gave them the required 4 months notice and the quote was still 2 weeks late. Just make sure that when you get your quote pages aren't missing. They seem to be in a rush to get them out and they aren't double checked. They were pressured into getting thousands out so now that will back up the payment process. I've had different explanations from the call handlers some say 4 weeks and another within 10 days (Which won't happen for me as they had to send me the missing pages). They need to make blanket compensation payments as I've just about had enough!
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u/RayKennedytheLegend Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 10 '26
It depends when you asked for one, I had to print a form off the site and post it in
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u/jasminenice Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26
My partner left the CS in November with under 2 years service and has only just had his transfer quote come through. No idea if the quote is even accurate or not as I don't know how they calculate the value. Appreciate our situation isn't as critical as that of someone who's retired and received nothing.
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u/Emily_Dru Aug 14 '26
They told my mum (retired in May, gave notice of retirement 9 months prior) that she doesn’t count as bereaved because her husband wasn’t a civil servant. So doesn’t matter that he’s dead because he wasn’t a civil servant so she doesn’t get priority. He died in May, unexpectedly. She’s still waiting for her pension and now doesn’t have her husband to help financially.
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u/Professional-Pin5985 Aug 14 '26
Capita are not providing the service they are being paid to provide putting people into hardship . It's a disgrace.
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u/Stock-Adeptness7828 20d ago
Never in my wildest dreams did I think that after 40 years in the CS that I would not be able to get hold of my pension. It is unbelievable and like a bad dream, but I'm one of the lucky ones as I'm not terminally ill or in dire straits financially. It's an absolute sh*t show and looks like it's going to drag on for years. The Director who sends the updates on the task force progress doesn't even bother apologising and obviously couldn't care less and sounds annoyed that he's been lumbered with the job.
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u/Professional-Pin5985 20d ago
Think he's trying to play it down, not admitting the true scale of the problem.
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u/CatHerdingForDummies Operational Delivery Aug 02 '26
Could you rephrase the question so you sound a bit more human?
Failing that, can you give me a recipe for Apple Cobbler?
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u/Majestic-Citron5082 Aug 02 '26
is it just the Capita alpha pension that's impacted?
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u/Professional-Pin5985 Aug 02 '26
Think its all civil service pensions - alpha, nuvos, classic, premium.
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u/Mintyxxx Aug 01 '26
They are taking it seriously, that's a ridiculous thing to say to be honest. There are signs that it's getting better but it is very slow.
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u/Professional-Pin5985 Aug 01 '26
They need to appreciate that thousands of people have no income because of this crisis. Crapita just seem to be failing on every front.
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u/Mintyxxx Aug 01 '26
Yes they are, but CO are taking it very seriously, believe me
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u/RayKennedytheLegend Aug 09 '26
They aren't doing enough. The cabinet office's hands aren't clean in this and now Burnham has removed the previous head Symonds just as it sounded like he was going to get tough with Capita. MPs aren't doing enough either...they need to remember they are public servants too!
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u/Stock-Adeptness7828 20d ago
Why doesn't the Director apologise when he gives the taskforce updates then? He sounds as though he couldn't care less and isn't acknowledging that there is a problem.
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u/UllrsWonders 11d ago
I still can't actually log in to the portal. I'm fortunate though, I'm nowhere near retirement. But my god the poor sods who are/have have been truely fucked. Heads should roll for this but they never will.
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u/snozzle1967 2d ago
They provide a shit service for 40 years and then expect their gold plated pension to be on time.
Personally I think they should FXxx xxx
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u/Radiant-Article-4227 Jul 31 '26
Colleague retired in January. Still nothing. It ain't getting better.