A retired civil servant says he is in “a nightmare with no way out” after being ordered to hand back £25,000 in overpaid pension benefits. Derek Ritchie, 63, is among hundreds of former civil servants ordered to repay up to six-figure sums after erroneous overpayments by MyCSP, appointed by the Cabinet Office to manage its pension schemes. Many of these errors were spotted in a 2019 review, but Mr Ritchie’s overpayments went under the radar and his benefits rose from £200 a year to £4,000, The Guardian reports.
“Over the last 11 years, I’ve made decisions, expenditures and plans based on the figures I was given and the mistake will cause me considerable hardship,” the former Ministry of Defence (MoD) employee, who has received treatment for depression and anxiety since being informed of the repayment requirements, said. “I shall have to go back to work for years to pay this off.”
The 63-year-old, who has been named under a pseudonym, said he was encouraged to take early requirement when his MoD position came up for early redundancy in 2014. He has worked part-time in mental halth care since 2017 and planned to retire fully in 2027.
“I might have chosen to continue my career with the ministry or opt for the redunancy deal available under the voluntary early release scheme if I’d known my income would be lower,” he said.
Pension providers can reduce the debt owed if recipients provide evidence that they have spent the money and would suffer financial hardships trying to pay it back.
With his monthly income already reduced by 13% and the prospect of a further 15% cut if he agrees to a payment plan, however, Mr Ritchie says he has been left “in a nightmare with no way out”.
A spokesperson for the Cabinet Office said: “We apply stringent guidelines on the recovery of overpayments, and work to ensure any money is recovered with flexibility and the least burden possible.”
The £239million outsourced pension scheme was transferred from MyCSP to Capita this month. The firm says it will provide “over 50 years of pension expertise, modern technology including AI, a focus on innovation and a commitment to social value” and pledged to “work in partnership with the Cabinet Office to build a more intuitive service that meets the needs of members”.