The Cabinet Office has agreed to press ahead with outsourcing giant Capita’s bid to take over administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme in December after concerns that the firm may not be ready in time.  

Capita was awarded a £239m contract to take over from current scheme administrator MyCSP in November 2023. Preparations for the changeover, which will see Capita running the scheme on behalf of the Cabinet Office for 10 years, have been ongoing for months. 

However back in July, Cabinet Office permanent secretary Cat Little told members of parliament’s Public Accounts Committee that progress with “transition milestones” built into the government’s contract with Capita was a “significant cause for concern”. 

Little, who is also civil service chief operating officer, said that a final “go/no-go” decision on the change of administration for the CSPS – which has 1.7 million members – would be taken in September. She said the switch would not take place unless there was confidence in Captia’s readiness. 

Weeks before Little’s comments, public spending watchdog the National Audit Office reported that Capita had already missed three of its “key milestones” for the transfer, prompting the Cabinet Office to withhold £9.6m in transition payments. At the time of the parliamentary session, Capita was adamant that its milestones had been met.  

The Cabinet Office has now confirmed to Civil Service World that Capita was able to reassure the department that preparations for the December changeover are in order, and that last month’s “go/no-go” decision went in favour of the company. 

A spokesperson said the department is “confident” that the programme to transfer administration of the CSPS “remains on track for the 1st of December and beyond”. 

 They added: “As with any major programme, we will continue to regularly assess business readiness during the transition and work closely with both MyCSP and Capita to keep member and employer impact during the transfer to a minimum. Any changes to the programme will be communicated to all affected workers in a timely manner.” 

Civil Service World understands that the changeover is likely to involve a period of days when online services are unavailable to CSPS members so that account details can be transferred to a new platform. The switch from MyCSP to Capita is also expected to involve members having to re-register to use online services. The rollout of Capita’s full service offer is expected to be complete by the end of March 2026. 

In August, the civil service’s biggest union – PCS – said it had “grave concerns” over the change of administrator from MyCSP to Capita and urged the Cabinet Office to bring scheme administration back “in-house”, to be overseen by civil servants.  

Adrian Prandle, assistant general secretary at FDA, the union for senior civil servants, said today that it is essential for CSPS scheme members’ interests to be given “foremost” consideration as part of the transfer from MyCSP to Capita. 

“Given the concerns raised publicly with the chief operating officer about preparedness, it’s essential that the transfer goes smoothly, that any temporary disruption is minimised and there is a marked improvement in service delivery,” he said. “We will also continue to exert pressure over the clearing of backlogs, which must be treated as urgent.” 

Ongoing concerns with MyCSP’s administration of the pension scheme – flagged in the NAO’s June report – include delays to retirement quotes and retirement payments, as well as lengthy waits for telephone queries to be answered. 

In a statement provided to Civil Service World, Capita said it is “on track” to begin administering the CSPS from 1 December. 

“Working in close partnership with the Cabinet Office, our priority is to deliver a smooth and secure handover,” the company said. “Capita is proud to have been selected to deliver such a vital service, supporting over 1.5 million current and former public servants who have dedicated their careers to the UK.” 

Capita said it would gradually roll out enhancements to the service provided to CSPS members over the coming months, including “intuitive digital tools” to give members greater control and visibility over their pension “journey”. 

It added that “market-leading automation and AI” would be embedded to “boost accuracy and efficiency” at the same time as continuously refining the experience based on stakeholder feedback and independent assurance.