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Thousands of former public sector workers are still facing delays to their first pension payments after problems with the company now running the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS).
Since outsourcing firm Capita took over administration of the scheme in December 2025, new lump sums and pension payments have been subject to significant delays, with some members reporting financial hardship.
Capita said the problems would be fixed before the summer, but delays are continuing.
Here, Which? explains what's happened, why delays have occurred and the latest developments over the past few months. We also explain how to get support if you've been affected.
In 2023, the Cabinet Office gave Capita a £239m, seven-year contract to run the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS). Taking over from a firm called MyCSP, the scheme manages the pensions of 1.7 million public sector workers in the UK.
Last year, Capita said it expected to inherit around 37,000 outstanding cases when it took over the contract. However, in a joint statement published on 28 January, the Cabinet Office and Capita confirmed that the actual backlog stood at 86,000 cases at the point of transfer, many of which were already overdue. This backlog then rose to 120,000.
As part of the transition, Capita also launched a new online member portal, but members then reported problems, including difficulty logging in, broken links and incomplete pension information.
The backlog includes around 8,500 retired staff who are waiting for their full pension payments. A further 6,300 cases involve members who have died, where families are waiting for lump sums or survivor pensions. Around 1,500 of these cases have arisen since December.
There are also 3,400 civil servants planning to leave under voluntary exit schemes who require paperwork and payments to be completed by the end of next month. Capita has said it can't guarantee that all these cases will be finalised by that deadline.
Official data from October shows there are still nearly 2,000 ‘aged cases’ waiting over 100 days to be resolved. This includes 1,311 delayed bereavement claims, 332 death-in-service cases, and 277 pending retirement payments. The vast majority (1,538) remain stalled as 'non-workable' while awaiting third-party information, while Capita currently holds full documentation for 390 'workable' cases awaiting payout within 15 days.
The government says pensions that were already in payment before the transfer to Capita shouldn't be affected by the current delays.
After Capita failed to restore service levels by its initial June target, the government withheld £9.9m in contract payments. In July, it then deployed independent advisers Grant Thornton to conduct a technical audit and oversee Capita’s rectification plan.
Capita executives then pledged to parliamentary committees that it aimed to restore services to standard contractual levels by 30 September. However, this target was missed, and taskforce director Richard Vianello confirmed the scheme will not be considered restored while it relies on temporary administrative workarounds and surge staff.
Ministers and the Capita taskforce are currently reviewing performance evidence alongside Grant Thornton's reports by the end of October to determine further commercial and legal actions, with ministers actively preparing long-term options to bring the pension scheme's administration back in-house.
In the interim, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) surge teams have stepped in to investigate the oldest bereavement cases, while Capita works toward an end-of-October deadline to deliver roughly 53,000 delayed annual benefit statements.
Which? has spoken to members affected by the delays, some of whom say they have been waiting months for payments.
One Which? member, who retired from the civil service in September 2025, said she had been warned of a four-month delay before submitting her paperwork. She received a payment in January, four months after retiring. At the time, she said it was unclear whether the money was her first monthly pension payment or a lump sum. During this time, she said she had received no communication from Capita or her former employer.
Thankfully, the delay didn't affect her main source of retirement income, as she had worked in the civil service for only a short period. ‘I would be a lot more upset about it if it was my main pension,’ she said.
Another Which? member shared that they are due to retire in December this year, and is 'anxious' about being caught up in the delays. In an email to Which? they said: 'I am trying to keep up with everything that is going on, and earlier this year I believed things would settle down by the time it comes for me to retire, but I don't think that will be the case. The Which? member said they were planning their finances around not receiving this pension scheme
Despite Capita reporting that it met its self-imposed September 1 target, Vianello condemned its ongoing performance as 'unacceptable', stating that it 'does not constitute full service recovery and still leaves far too many scheme members facing uncertainty'.
In an effort to address the severe backlog, in February Capita expanded its total workforce to more than 650 personnel, prioritised bereavement, ill-health and hardship cases, and implemented measures to bring call wait times down for urgent cases.
In a statement provided to Which? earlier this year, Capita apologised for the 'worry, frustration and distress' caused by the delays. In a new statement provided to Which? Capita said: 'We are sorry for the impact service issues have had on members. Despite good operational progress, we recognise there is more to do. We are working closely with the Cabinet Office to resolve outstanding cases and restore the service to the standard members should expect.'
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In its latest update, interest is now being applied automatically to delayed retirement and death benefit payments without requiring members to file a claim, although unions continue pushing for broader compensation. Alongside this, Capita is now developing an online calculator tool so members can trace these interest calculations.
To help bridge financial gaps, the Cabinet Office also continues to offer interest-free transition support loans to those whose pensions are overdue. Most eligible members can borrow up to £5,000, rising to £10,000 in exceptional cases. Members can now borrow up to £20,000 if they are facing exceptional financial hardship.
The loan is expected to be repaid within 28 days of pension payments being made, although payment plans will be available if needed. You will be eligible if:
If you retired earlier than this, or you're waiting for a payment following the death of a family member, you won't be eligible for the loan.
To apply, contact your former department’s HR team. The government says departments are also reaching out to affected members, but you should get in touch directly if you believe you're eligible and have not been contacted.
Once the loan is approved, the government says payments should be made within a few days, although in some cases it may take up to 28 days.
If you don't meet the criteria but are experiencing financial hardship, the joint statement says you should raise your concerns directly with Capita through its online portal, ‘Contact Us’ form on its website, or helpline on 0300 123 6666. Capita has warned that the severe backlog means complaint response times may also be significantly delayed.
If you're unhappy with the service you've received, you can make a formal complaint.
Start by raising your complaint with Capita. You can do this using the contact form on the Civil Service Pensions website or by writing to Capita directly.
If you're not satisfied with the response, you can ask for your case to be reviewed under the scheme’s formal dispute resolution process. This is the next stage of the scheme’s internal complaints procedure.
If your complaint is still not resolved after completing the scheme’s dispute process, you can take your case to the Pensions Ombudsman. The ombudsman can investigate complaints and disputes about pension schemes and has the legal power to require corrective action or award compensation where appropriate. Its determinations are legally binding.
Select the option that best describes your current situation.
