Thousands waiting on pension payments after Capita misses crucial deadline: ‘It’s unacceptable’
Thousands of civil servants are missing out on pension payments and retirement quotas despite the government giving a deadline for progress, a union has warned.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union said Capita had officially missed the June 30 deadline for the Government’s £239 million Public Service Pensions contract.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “The government set a clear deadline for Capita and today that deadline has been missed.
“Ministers promised Parliament that there would be consequences if Capita did not deliver, so now we need to know what will happen.
“Thousands of people are still waiting for their pension payments, retirement offers and other vital decisions.
“Ministers now need to explain how they plan to hold Capita to account.
“The only way to restore trust is to cancel this contract from Capita and bring Public Service pension administration back in-house.”
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “Service levels following the move to Capita were unacceptable.
“An urgent recovery plan is underway and our immediate priority is to stabilize service levels and give current and former officers the service they deserve.
“Cabinet Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has set a deadline of the end of June for significant progress to be made in this area.
“We are assessing the situation and will update in due course.
“We will continue to use all commercial tools available to hold Capita accountable and ensure it serves both members and taxpayers.”
A Cabinet Office minister said in April that Royal Mail’s statutory pension scheme contract with Capita was terminated after the service group “failed to achieve a number of milestones”.
Nick Thomas-Symonds told the House of Commons that the government had repeatedly flagged delays with Capita and “will not hesitate to act decisively” to protect public sector workers’ pensions.
He assured Royal Mail pensioners that the government would “do all we can to ensure continuity of service”.
In a statement, Mr Thomas-Symonds said: “Following the failure to meet critical transition milestones and a lack of confidence in Capita’s ability to transition and implement the new operating model in a timely manner, I am today announcing to the House of Representatives that I am terminating the new Royal Mail statutory pension scheme contract with Capita.
“Capita had an 18-month planning window to prepare for the migration. They failed to meet numerous milestones, including failing to implement required IT automation.
“The Cabinet Office has repeatedly flagged delays in transition phases.”
