PCS demands urgent action on Pensions

PCS's letter to the Cabinet Office demands urgent and effective action to restore acceptable levels of service in the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme. Since the transition to Capita, which saw Capita inherit a backlog of around 90,000 cases from the previous contractor MyCSP/Equiniti, many newly retired members have had payment of lump sums and first payments of pension delayed.

PCS general secretary, Fran Heathcote, has set out the urgent steps PCS wants to see in order that scheme members can have confidence that the crisis is being dealt with effectively. PCS is calling for:

• Urgent clarification on resourcing
• A firm timeline for clearing the backlog and restarting work on the McCloud Remedy
• Confirmation that Capita will prioritise work to release delayed payments
• The development of a proactive compensation scheme for protracted delays.

Requesting a response by close of business on Friday 16 January, PCS has made clear that we are receiving an unprecedented number of enquiries from members and that our parliamentary group of MPs is similarly reporting a very high volume of contact from constituents.

To secure the pension benefits to which members are legally entitled we will consider all legal options which might be available to us - both on an individual and collective basis.