Pension scandal as 'thousands of' civil servants left waiting on MILLIONS in retirement payments
Pension provider Capita has missed the Government's deadline to pay workers on the Civil Service Pensions contract
Pension provider Capita has missed the Government's deadline to pay workers on the Civil Service Pensions contract
The civil service is in the midst of a pension scandal as "thousands of" civil servants are understood to be waiting on their retirement payments from a scheme provider.
Capita has been accused of failing to meet the Government's end-of-June deadline for delivering on its £239million Civil Service Pensions contract, according to the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union.
The outsourcing firm was given until today to demonstrate substantial progress on the troubled agreement, but the PCS says thousands of current and former civil servants remain without pension payments, retirement quotes, and other essential decisions.
Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds had established the June 30 target following persistent complaints about service standards since Capita assumed responsibility for administering civil service pensions.
The union is now demanding answers about what consequences the company will face.
Fran Heathcote, the PCS general secretary, accused the Government of allowing the deadline to pass without resolution.
She said: "The Government set a clear deadline for Capita and today that deadline has been missed. Ministers promised Parliament there would be consequences if Capita failed to deliver, so we need to know what happens now."
Ms Heathcote emphasised that thousands of people continue to wait for pension payments, retirement quotes and other vital decisions.
She called on ministers to explain how they plan to hold the outsourcing giant accountable.
The union boss added: "The only way to restore confidence is to strip Capita of this contract and bring Civil Service pensions administration back in-house."
The Cabinet Office acknowledged that service standards since Capita took over the contract have been unacceptable.
A spokesperson confirmed that an urgent recovery plan is currently underway, with the immediate focus on stabilising services for current and former civil servants.
The Government has promised to deploy all available commercial mechanisms to ensure Capita meets its obligations to both pension scheme members and taxpayers.
A spokesperson said: "We are assessing the situation and will update in due course.
"We will continue to use all available commercial levers to hold Capita to account and ensure they deliver for both members and taxpayers."