Civil Service Pensions has appointed an external auditor to review Capita’s administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS), as more than 30,000 retirement quote and bereavement cases remain outstanding.

In the latest update from the Civil Service Pensions recovery team, Civil Service Pensions director, Richard Vianello, confirmed that an auditor had now been appointed and terms were being finalised.

The audit will examine Capita’s historic administration activity, including whether the correct processes have been followed to the required standard for retirement quotes, bereavements and pension payments.

It will also assess whether Capita had the systems, information and resources required to deliver the service expected from the outset.

The move follows the appointment of Grant Thornton as remedial adviser. The consultancy was appointed and funded by Capita, with Cabinet Office agreement, and is working under the direction of the recovery team.

Grant Thornton is reviewing Capita’s rectification plan, including whether the proposed timescales are realistic and whether further action is needed to clear outstanding cases more quickly.

The latest data showed that 17,014 members were waiting for a retirement quote, including quotes for future retirement dates, while 13,047 bereavement cases remained.

Capita was also waiting for responses from 438 third parties as part of death-in-service work.

Of those cases, 203 had been outstanding for more than four months, while 175 remained with Capita to progress, with a spouse, civil partner or family member waiting for payment.

Vianello noted that the remaining cases were among the most challenging and that the recovery team was working with Capita to reduce the backlog to zero.

He has asked Capita to provide a breakdown of cases by category to establish clearer expected clearance dates and more targeted communications for affected members.

Civil Service Pensions is also working with Capita to simplify identity verification after some members were asked to provide ID information late in the process.

Vianello acknowledged the frustration caused but said identity checks remained necessary to ensure pension benefits were paid to the correct recipients.

The update also addressed growing enquiries about the 2015 McCloud Remedy.

Vianello urged members not to contact Capita’s call centre for information at this stage because recalculations had not yet been completed.

He confirmed that a plan and completion timetable had been requested from Capita and would be reviewed alongside the wider remediation programme.

“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,” he added.

Capita has also confirmed that the Civil Service Pensions retirement modeller is expected to become available around mid-October, with a further update due in September.

Vianello warned that member patience was “wearing thin” and acknowledged that many individuals and bereaved families were increasingly frustrated by 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," he said.

The Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance (CSPA) welcomed the appointment of independent advisers and the external auditor, describing the moves as evidence of the seriousness of the ongoing problems.

However, it stressed the priority for members remained a meaningful reduction in the backlog and timely payment of pensions and benefits.

The CSPA also criticised the absence of a confirmed timetable for the McCloud remedy work and said it would continue to press for clearer timescales, improved communications, and lasting improvements to CSPS administration.

---