The National Audit Office has launched an audit into the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme as the crisis hits the 10-month mark.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The probe will examine how the Cabinet Office has managed the transition of the scheme’s administration\u00a0from MyCSP to Capita\u00a0and the latter’s running of the service\u00a0since December 2025.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The investigation will look at the status of the scheme and transition arrangements at go-live on 1 December, how Capita has performed in administering the scheme, and the impact on member experience since it started running the scheme.<\/p>\n
It will also consider how the Cabinet Office has “exercised its responsibilities for oversight” of the scheme both before and after\u00a0the transition to Capita.<\/p>\n
The scope of the investigation will not include looking at individual pension calculations. The NAO has noted that scheme members who have any questions or concerns about their own pension should contact their pension administrator.<\/p>\n
Summarising the state of play since the transition, the NAO said: \u201cDespite a two-year transition period to prepare for taking over the scheme, Capita has struggled to administer the scheme effectively following the transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n
It said \u201ckey service levels have been repeatedly missed, leaving many members struggling to access the information they need to plan for their retirement\u201d.<\/p>\n
And the watchdog said other members who were due to have retired \u201chave been forced to amend their plans as they did not receive the payments they were entitled to on time\u201d.<\/p>\n
It also noted that the Cabinet Office had to introduce transitional support loans to affected members of the scheme, with \u00a322.1m paid out to more than 3,900 members by August 2026. The loans remain available to those awaiting payment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The investigation will build on the NAO\u2019s June 2025 report<\/a> on the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme, which focused on MyCSP\u2019s customer service and looked at the initial planning that had taken place as part of the transition process to Capita.\u00a0<\/p>\n The report found that complaints about the scheme increased by 43% between 2016-17 and 2023-24 and said the Cabinet Office had struggled to hold MyCSP to account when performance has fallen below agreed levels. It warned the Cabinet Office that it needed to learn lessons from customer service failings in the scheme over more than a decade and avoid repeating them with the new administrator.<\/p>\n A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “The service levels following the move to Capita have been completely unacceptable. Our immediate priority is to stabilise the service to give current and former civil servants the service they deserve.<\/p>\n “While robust commercial levers will continue to be applied in the short term, including withholding nearly \u00a310m\u00a0in payments, the government intends to move forward the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation and is actively shaping a long-term strategy to bring this pension scheme in-house.<\/p>\n “We welcome the NAO’s work in this area and will work collaboratively with them.”<\/p>\n In a statement responding to the launch of the review, Capita said it would \u201ccontinue to engage fully and transparently with the NAO, Cabinet Office and relevant stakeholders\u201d.<\/p>\n The firm said it has made “good operational progress in both August and September across priority areas of CSPS” but “recognises the need for continued service improvement”.<\/p>\n The company said it is “implementing further automation along with stronger governance including improved management information”, which will “continue to improve operational output and member experience”.<\/p>\n “Capita accepts that performance remains below the standards that scheme members and the government rightly expect,” the firm added.\u00a0“The remediation of CSPS remains the group\u2019s top priority.\u201d<\/p>\n Cabinet Office says it is ‘applying maximum pressure’ on Capita<\/p>\n In its latest update on the recovery, Cabinet Office civil service pensions director\u00a0Richard Vianello said civil servants have been basing themselves at Capita’s office for the last week,\u00a0working with the firm to “ensure that the next phase of the rectification plan addresses the full range of outstanding queries”.<\/p>\n