The National Audit Office (NAO) has refused to sign off fully the 2011-12 Civil Superannuation accounts after the Cabinet Office failed to provide it with sufficient records to confirm that pensioners have received correct payments in accordance with scheme rules.

NAO comptroller and auditor general Amyas Morse also raised questions around the truth and fairness of the valuation of pension liabilities. “I sought assurance that the pension liability of £144bn was a reasonable estimate based on the scheme’s membership records. The evidence presented to me was insufficient to support, in all material respects, this liability,” he said.

Pensions awarded under the PCSPS are linked to a member’s length of qualifying service and salary. In some six per cent of the cases (by value) tested by the NAO, insufficient evidence was provided that the correct payment had been made. Further, records had not consistently been retained where members had moved within, or left, the Civil Service.

Morse added that despite the Cabinet Office launching an administration programme that had resulted in better operational and risk management, it did not take full ownership of financial matters as there was no finance director or other senior finance official directly responsible for Civil Superannuation.

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