Background
The civil service pension scheme has nearly 1.7 million members, both retired and in work, and in 2023-24 had total pension liabilities of nearly £190 billion.
The NAO last reported on members’ experience of the civil service pension scheme in 2016, after the Cabinet Office contracted with MyCSP to administer the scheme. During the time MyCSP has been administering the scheme a number of changes to civil service pensions have impacted on what members need from their pension scheme administrator.
The number of complaints that the civil service pension scheme received increased between 2021-22 and 2022-23, going from 1,795 in a year to 3,753.
Scope
This study will focus on the customer service provided to members of the civil service pension scheme. It will be a factual investigation to set out:
- what the civil service pension scheme is and how it is administered
- what level of customer service members of the scheme are receiving
- how the Cabinet Office is overseeing the upcoming transfer of administering the scheme to Capita from 2025
The study will look at members’ experience of the administration of the scheme as a whole. It will not be looking at individual pensions calculations. Scheme members who have any questions or concerns about their own pension should contact their pension administrator.
NAO team
Director: Lee Summerfield
Audit Manager: Tom Tyson