'Civil service pension limbo delayed my retirement'

Public sector workers have told the BBC of the misery caused by long delays in pension payments, with one man saying he had to push back his retirement because of the issue.

Prospective pensioners looking to leave their jobs or cut back their hours have been unable to receive payments after operator Capita Public Services took over the Public Service Pensions Scheme (PSPS) in December.

Simon Cansick, from Fetcham, Surrey, who has worked for HM Revenue and Customs for 25 years, said: "It's putting an awful lot of stress on an awful lot of people."

Bosses at Capita have previously apologised for the saga, while a Cabinet Office spokesperson called service levels "unacceptable".

Cansick, who was due to partially retire in March when he turned 60, added: "We were in the process of purchasing a property, but because we haven't got the money we have withdrawn that.

"This has sucked some of the joy out of retiring."

Cansick said he had been forced to push his partial retirement back to September, in the hope that payments would be sorted by then.

Alison Martin, from Charlwood who retired from the civil service, added that she had yet to receive regular payments despite retiring at the end of November 2025.

She said: "I'm more than a bit bitter. I would like to see some rapid movement."

Capita bosses apologised to the Public Accounts Committee in February over the payment issues.

An emergency interest-free loan system was set up in January to try and tide pensioners over until issues are resolved, which has so far paid more than £7.2m according to the Cabinet Office.

Chris Coghlan, MP for Dorking and Horley, said constituents were "worried about how to pay their bills and mortgages" and that the situation was "very serious and deeply frustrating".

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said about 23,000 pension quotations were outstanding, as of Monday.

They said: "An urgent recovery plan is under way, and our immediate priority is to stabilise the service and give current and former civil servants the service they deserve.

"The Cabinet Office will continue to use all available commercial levers to hold Capita to account and ensure they deliver for both members and taxpayers."

Capita has committed to restore service by the end of June, they added.

A spokesperson from Capita said: "We have been working together with the Cabinet Office over several months to reduce the backlog and are taking all necessary steps to address this.

"Additional staff have been trained and deployed, and our focus is on ensuring members of the Civil Service Pension Scheme receive the service they expect and deserve, in line with the plan agreed with the Cabinet Office."

They add: "We are sorry for the worry, distress and frustration any delays are causing."

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