Civil Service Pensions Taskforce update #14

Thank you for your continued interest in the work of the recovery team. Last time, I announced that the consultancy firm Grant Thornton had been appointed as remedial advisors. They are a consultancy firm acting as an independent third party, paid for and appointed by Capita, but with our agreement and working under our direction. They have extensive expertise in pensions administration and are assessing Capita’s rectification plan, to give their view on whether the timescales are realistic, and/or if there is anything more Capita need to do to clear backlogs at pace. I can assure you that they are getting under the bonnet of the plan, to really understand the assumptions that underpin it.

We’ve now appointed an Auditor and are finalising terms. The audit will focus on Capita’s ‘rear view activity’; for example, they will establish whether the correct processes are being followed to the right quality for quotes, bereavements and pension payments etc. They will look into whether Capita had (and has) all that it needs to do the things they said they would do from Day 1. This will give an understanding of the situation up to now and how Capita is operating.

For those who are not familiar with why the Cabinet Office is taking this course of action, please read taskforce update #12 for context.

None of this takes away from the fact that tens of thousands of you are still waiting for a quote, pension payments or answers to your queries. Capita are making progress to improve the throughput of new enquiries, but there remain a large number of members whose case is in the backlog. Unfortunately, these remaining cases are the most challenging, and the recovery team is working with Capita to drive these down to zero. I’ve asked Capita for a breakdown of cases split into categories so we can better understand the challenges and then agree on member-specific communications by grouping and expected clearance date. The latest data shows:

• 17,014 members are waiting for a retirement quote, including those for future dates
• There are 13,047 bereavement cases for Capita to resolve
• Capita is waiting for responses from 438 third parties as part of the death in service work. 203 death in service cases are over four months old and 175 are with Capita to progress as there is a spouse, civil partner or family waiting for the payment that they are due.

Some people have been asked to supply ID information at the end of the process, and I appreciate this will be frustrating. ID checks are necessary to ensure pension benefits are paid to the right person(s). However, we are working with Capita to provide a more efficient solution, to simplify and speed up this part of the process, and I expect this to start for new applications shortly.

I am also aware that more members are starting to contact Capita with queries about the 2015 Remedy (McCloud). Please do not call the contact centre for information at this stage, as Capita have yet to work through the recalculations. I have asked for a plan, and timescales for completion, and will review this alongside the overall remediation plan. I genuinely understand your exasperation at having to wait for information about the impact of McCloud, and know your expectations (and mine) are that this work should be well ahead of where we are. However, contacting Capita will not speed up your options calculations.

Many of you have been asking about the retirement modeller. Capita have now confirmed that it will be available around mid-October. I will update you about its progress in September, when I expect to see a near final version.

I know members’ patience is wearing thin, and behind each case there is a person or bereaved family increasingly frustrated and angry at being on the receiving end of poor service. My team is making every possible effort to stabilise operations, hold our supplier to account and work to improve the customer journey going forward.

Richard Vianello

Director, Civil Service Pensions