Enhanced identity checks exacerbate pension delays

Members of the Civil Service Pension Scheme who have been waiting many months for their pension are experiencing further delays due to an enhanced identity check. While many organisations are rightly increasing security around high value transactions, there has been no trade union consultation over the version adopted by Capita or the timing of its introduction.

Concerns over this issue are being voiced at the same time as Capita approaches the end of June deadline imposed by paymaster general, and minister for the Cabinet Office, Nick Thomas-Symonds, in a statement to the House of Commons on 22 April. The requirement is that Capita should be delivering the full terms of its contract by 30 June.

Since PCS reported that this is no longer possible there has been an attempt to move the goalposts to the achievement of “significant progress” towards the terms of the contract. Weakening the commitment in this way would make it possible to claim a business as usual status while, at the same time, a backlog of thousands of retirement applications continues to build up, labelled as data unverified or disputed cases.

PCS is clear that this is completely unacceptable. As well as failing the many scheme members left without retirement income, it effectively rewards failure. It perpetuates the real story of outsourcing which effectively gives control to the contractor to cut costs by delivering the minimum standard of service.

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We want to hear how people are being affected by the civil service pensions crisis, if you are willing to feature in PCS communications to support our campaign, email [email protected]