When the oldest outstanding request for a Civil Service Pension quotation was made.
Due to the moving nature of the caseload every day, the Cabinet Office is unable to provide the specific date of the oldest outstanding request. Overall, there are currently over 25,000 outstanding pension quotations. Capita intends to issue the outstanding quotations by the end of June. These consist of:active members who are wanting to partially retireactive members who are wanting to fully retirepartial retirees who want to fully retiredeferred members (who no longer work for the Civil Service) who want to bring their pension into paymentThe Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous governmentThe issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in receiving their pension quotes are unacceptable. I want to reassure you that this Government has taken firm action to help put things right as soon as possible. We have agreed a clear recovery plan with Capita, which includes specific milestones and accountability targets for delivery. For priority cases, we have deployed additional resources and improved communication with affected colleagues, so that staff, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve.Existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been enhanced and strengthened to deliver improved performance and higher penalties for failure, including financial penalties. These have already been applied in respect to Capita's performance with recent issues and delays in administering the Civil Service Pension Scheme.Capita has made lump sum payments to 12,374 members, the majority of whom have retired but are not yet receiving their pension, and are on track to bring these members into regular pension payments by the end of May.To provide immediate financial support to those who may need it, including those who have left under the compensation scheme, arrangements are in place for interest-free bridging loans of £5,000 and higher in exceptional cases to most recent retirees facing payment delays. This is alongside interim lump sum payments being made to provide immediate funds to retiring members. The pension scheme continues to make monthly pension payments to approximately 730,000 existing pensioner members on time.To mitigate member hardship, employers have issued £8.9 million in Transitional Support Loans to 1,665 members and these arrangements continue to be in place.Interest will be paid on delayed benefits to avoid financial loss by members. In addition, the existing statutory complaints process evaluates claims for financial losses, as well as distress and inconvenience caused, on a case-by-case basis to determine whether compensation is due. This ensures that any retiree who provides evidence of extra costs, such as bank penalties or interest charges caused by the delay, is fairly assessed. This process is run in accordance with the standards set by the Pensions Ombudsman.The Cabinet Office has mandated Capita that they must restore service levels by the end of June 2026. We are using every commercial lever at our disposal, including withholding payments for deliverables that have not been met. We also reserve the right to take further formal action to ensure the service returns to the required standards. The Cabinet Office continues to closely monitor Capita's progress and performance against all contractual service levels.Regular updates on the work to recover the service, continue to be posted on the Civil Service Pensions member portal and on Gov.Uk.