UK Inquiry Tracker

Civil service pensions

Public Accounts Committee Open Inquiry

Opened: 6 May 2025 Parliament page

The civil service pension scheme has 1.7m members, either in work or retired. It paid out just under £8bn to scheme members in 2023-24, with its total liabilities coming to nearly £190bn in the same year. The Cabinet Office contracted with MyCSP to administer the scheme in 2014, taking over … Read more The civil service pension scheme has 1.7m members, either in work or retired. It paid out just under £8bn to scheme members in 2023-24, with its total liabilities coming to nearly £190bn in the same year. The Cabinet Office contracted with MyCSP to administer the scheme in 2014, taking over from Capita, who are due to take over the contract once again from late 2025. During MyCSP’s administration of the contract, a number of changes to civil service pensions have impacted on what members need from their administrator and issues in the wider pensions landscape may have affected how MyCSP manages customer service. In particular the 2018 McCloud judgment , which found that the government discriminated against younger members of public service pension schemes, affected all public service pension schemes. Complaints received by the civil service pension scheme increased from 1,795 in a year to 3,753 between 2021-22 and 2022-23. The PAC’s Public Sector Pensions report in 2021 said that HM Treasury had done little to identify and manage the stark differences in average pensions between genders and other groups, and should have foreseen the age discrimination issue that gave rise to the McCloud judgment. The National Audit Office (NAO) investigated members’ experience of civil service pension administration in 2016 , which found some scheme members had experienced serious problems with the way their individual cases had been processed. The NAO in 2025 investigated the administration of the civil service pension scheme. Informed by the NAO’s findings, the PAC will hear from senior Cabinet Office officials on the levels of customer service scheme members are now receiving, and the upcoming transfer of administration to Capita. If you have evidence on these issues please submit it here by 23:59 on Monday 23 June 2025. Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. Please note that the Committee’s inquiry cannot assist with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to read the information on Parliament’s website about who you can contact with different issues . Show less

18 Recommendations

9 Conclusions

1 Report

2 Oral sessions

25 Letters

2 Events

Activity timeline 31 events

21 May
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Prospect Deputy General Secretary relating to Dealing with Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) member complaints about the …

14 May
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the CEO of Capita Public Services relating to Civil Service Pensions, 5 May 2026

28 Apr
2026

Correspondence

Joint PAC-PACAC letter to the Minister for the Cabinet Office relating to the Civil Service Pensions scheme (CSPS)

15 Apr
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the CEO of Capita Public Services relating to the Administration of the Civil Service Pensions Scheme, 8 April 2026

15 Apr
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office relating to the Administration of the Civil Service Pensions Scheme, 14 April 2026

15 Apr
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the CEO of Capita Public Services relating to the Administration of the Civil Service Pensions Scheme, 13 April 2026

15 Apr
2026

Correspondence

Letter from Chief Executive Officer of MyCSP relating to the Administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme, 2 April 2026

26 Mar
2026

Oral evidence

Oral evidence session

26 Mar
2026

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House

Committee event

25 Mar
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office relating to Administration of the Civil Service Pensions Scheme, 24 March 2026

23 Mar
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Managing Director of Capita Pension Solutions relating to an update of the civil service pension scheme, 20 March 2026

12 Mar
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Chair of the Committee to the Chief Executive Officer of MyCSP Ltd relating to a follow-up to the Administration of the Civ…

Oral evidence sessions 2 sessions

26 Mar 2026

View on parliament.uk

Chris Clements · Capita Public Services Richard Holroyd · Capita

7 Jul 2025

View on parliament.uk

Cat Little CB · Cabinet Office Duncan Watson · MyCSP Fiona Ryland · Cabinet Office Muna Rowe · Cabinet Office

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
49th Report - Administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme	HC 888	24 Oct 2025	27	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

9 results

2 Recommendation Accepted

49th Report - Administration of th…

Set out plan for remaining pension members affected by Remedy, including communication timeline

More than half of members who are drawing their pension and affected by Remedy are facing unacceptable waits until as late as 2027 to have their pension options set out for them. Applying remedies to members requires MyCSP to send … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees and states that its new pensions administrator, Capita, is undertaking discovery work to develop delivery plans for remaining affected members. It expects to conclude discovery by December 2025 and communicate detailed delivery plans and timescales to members in the first quarter of 2026.

HM Treasury

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3 Recommendation Accepted

49th Report - Administration of th…

Set out plan to ensure commercial capacity, contract management and adequate customer service from suppliers

The Cabinet Office has not demonstrated it has sufficient capacity and capability to manage the MyCSP contract effectively and has now failed on two occasions to adequately manage the transition from one supplier to another. The Cabinet Office accepts that … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees and states it has implemented a new contract with 38 Performance Indicators, including Key Performance Indicators, and a system of Service Points with associated penalties for various levels of failure, to ensure robust accountability and improved customer service from its new pensions administrator.

HM Treasury

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5 Conclusion Accepted

49th Report - Administration of th…

Develop contingency plans for Capita's pension administration transition and update Committee on decision

There is a clear risk that Capita will not be ready to take over administration of the Scheme as planned on 1 December 2025. The planned date of transfer of administration from MyCSP to Capita is 1 December 2025. However, … Read more

Government Response

The government stated it has existing contingency requirements with MyCSP for system rollback and an option to extend support until May 2026 if needed. It confirmed the decision to transfer services to Capita on 1 December 2025 and informed the Committee Chair.

HM Treasury

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1 Conclusion Accepted

49th Report - Administration of th…

Committee scrutinised Civil Service Pension Scheme administration and planned transfer to Capita

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Cabinet Office and from MyCSP on the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (the Scheme) and arrangement beings made for the planned … Read more

Government Response

The government outlined that Capita's financial model specifies minimum staff levels and will provide 6-monthly updates. Capita is actively recruiting an additional 60% of staff, many already undergoing training, to manage backlogs. The government confirmed the service successfully transitioned to Capita on 1 December.

HM Treasury

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9 Recommendation Accepted

49th Report - Administration of th…

Capita's staffing levels require replanning due to delayed IT automation and missed milestones

Capita is planning to have 33 fewer staff in its first year running the Scheme than the 332 MyCSP had at the start of 2025.16 When we queried whether that would be enough to provide the right levels of service … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees and states that Capita's financial cost model identifies the minimum staffing levels required and that Capita is recruiting an additional 60% of staff to bolster the team and deal with backlogs, with a large number already recruited and in training, and the government says the transition to Capita has already happened.

HM Treasury

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11 Conclusion Accepted

49th Report - Administration of th…

MyCSP ceased Remedy processing; Cabinet Office plans to contact remaining pensioners by March 2027

MyCSP is no longer processing Remedy cases whilst the Cabinet Office considers how it wants to deal with these remaining cases. We asked the Cabinet Office if it has a plan for when the remainder of those who are currently … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees to provide revised options for the Remedy period (2015 to 2022) for the remaining 56% (circa 132,100 impacted members) with discovery work expected to conclude in December 2025. They expect to be able to communicate detailed delivery plans with associated timescales during the first quarter of 2026.

HM Treasury

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12 Recommendation Accepted

49th Report - Administration of th…

Cabinet Office lacks clear method for prioritising remaining Remedy cases amidst data complexity

The Cabinet Office was unable to tell us how it will decide which members may be waiting up until March 2027 and explained that this would be determined by the data and how the plan is constructed.25 It said that … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees and is working on implementing the Remedy, including providing revised options to the circa 132,100 impacted members who are drawing their pension, with discovery work expected to conclude in December 2025 and plans to communicate detailed delivery plans and target timescales to members in the first quarter of 2026.

HM Treasury

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21 Recommendation Accepted

49th Report - Administration of th…

Capita's pension scheme transition experiences significant delays, impacting IT and payments withheld

The planned date of transfer of administration from MyCSP to Capita is 1 December 2025. However, of the eight transition milestones which have so far passed, only one has passed with all elements delivered on time.45 At the end of … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees with the recommendation and has requirements in place with MyCSP to roll back the system should issues arise during the transition to Capita, allowing service delivery to continue with MyCSP until 31st December 2025, with options to extend support until the end of May 2026 if needed. The Cabinet Office has also informed the Committee chair of the decision to proceed with the transition to Capita.

HM Treasury

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23 Conclusion Accepted

49th Report - Administration of th…

Cabinet Office preparing contingencies for Capita's IT readiness, awaiting September 'go/no-go' decision

We checked with the Cabinet Office what contingency plans it had should Capita’s IT systems not be ready on the transition date. The Cabinet Office asserted that it had several plans, including a more gradual roll-out of the Capita technology, … Read more

Government Response

The government states it has requirements in place with the current provider MyCSP in the event of a failure in the implementation cutover including the provision to roll back the system and options to extend support until the end of May 2026. It also states sufficient contingency in the Capita systems to ensure the delivery of service is increased this includes tightening of the commercial levers which will hold Capita to account for failures.

HM Treasury

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Government Response AI assessment · 26 of 18 classified

Accepted 9

Acknowledged 5

Deferred 1

Not Addressed 3

Rejected 8

Total 18 recs + 9 conclusions

Correspondence 25 letters

21 May 2026 To committee Letter from the Prospect Deputy General Secretary relating to Dealing with Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) member complaints about the impact of the unacceptable performance of scheme administrators, 15 May 2026

Parliament page

14 May 2026 To committee Letter from the CEO of Capita Public Services relating to Civil Service Pensions, 5 May 2026

Parliament page

28 Apr 2026 From committee Joint PAC-PACAC letter to the Minister for the Cabinet Office relating to the Civil Service Pensions scheme (CSPS)

Parliament page

15 Apr 2026 To committee Letter from the CEO of Capita Public Services relating to the Administration of the Civil Service Pensions Scheme, 8 April 2026

Parliament page

15 Apr 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office relating to the Administration of the Civil Service Pensions Scheme, 14 April 2026

Parliament page

15 Apr 2026 To committee Letter from the CEO of Capita Public Services relating to the Administration of the Civil Service Pensions Scheme, 13 April 2026

Parliament page

15 Apr 2026 To committee Letter from Chief Executive Officer of MyCSP relating to the Administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme, 2 April 2026

Parliament page

25 Mar 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office relating to Administration of the Civil Service Pensions Scheme, 24 March 2026

Parliament page

23 Mar 2026 To committee Letter from the Managing Director of Capita Pension Solutions relating to an update of the civil service pension scheme, 20 March 2026

Parliament page

12 Mar 2026 To committee Letter from the Chair of the Committee to the Chief Executive Officer of MyCSP Ltd relating to a follow-up to the Administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme, 05 March 2026

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12 Mar 2026 To committee Letter from the Chair of the Committee to the Chief Operating Officer of the Civil Service relating to a follow-up to the Administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme, 12 March 2026

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2 Mar 2026 To committee Letter from the Managing Director of Capita Pensions Solutions relating to a follow-up to the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme, 23 February 2026

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23 Feb 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office relating to a follow-up to the Administration of the Civil Service Pensions Scheme, 23 February 2026

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23 Feb 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office relating to a follow-up to the Administration of the Civil Service Pensions Scheme, 16 February 2026

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13 Feb 2026 To committee Letter from the Chair to the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office relating to ‘Administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme: Hardship loans’, 13 February 2026

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9 Feb 2026 To committee Letter from the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee to the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office relating to the Administration of the Civil Service Pensions Scheme, 09 February 2026

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9 Feb 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office relating to the Civil Service Pensions Scheme recovery plan, 02 February 2026

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6 Feb 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office regarding Civil Service Pensions, 11 November 2025

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2 Feb 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office relating to the Committee’s findings and recommendations on the audit of the Civil Service Pensions, 22 January 2026

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1 Dec 2025 To committee Letter from the Head of Public Affairs and Government Relations at Capita relating to the transition of the Civil Service Pensions Scheme (CSPS), 25 November 2025

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17 Nov 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office relating to the Committee’s recent Report on Civil Service Pensions, 03 November 2025

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16 Oct 2025 To committee Letter from the Chief Executive Officer at MyCSP relating to the oral evidence session held on 07 July 2025 on Civil service pensions, 15 September 2025

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4 Sep 2025 To committee Letter from the Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Officer Permanent Secretary relating to the transition arrangements to Capita for the new administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme and contingency plans, 05 August 2025

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4 Sep 2025 To committee Letter from the Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary relating to the follow ups on the oral evidence session held on 07 July 2025 on Civil Service Pensions, 28 July 2025

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4 Sep 2025 To committee Letter from the Senior National Officer at Public Commercial Services Union relating to the follow up on the oral evidence session held on 07 July 2025 on Civil Service Pensions, 29 July 2025

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