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Capita Pension Failures
I have been contacted by dozens of constituents who, after years of dedicated public service in our armed forces, our prisons, and across a range of vital public services, are now struggling to make ends meet because of failures by Capita.
I raised these issues back in April when the then Minister made a statement on this matter and I am disappointed that, months later, little appears to have changed. New cases continue to arrive in my inbox from constituents who cannot access the pensions they have worked for and earned.
Each delayed payment represents someone unable to begin the next chapter of their life, someone who has worked hard, fulfilled their duties, and earned the right to a secure and stress-free retirement. Instead, they are being met with uncertainty, anxiety, and financial insecurity.
One constituent completed 40 years of public service and submitted her application back in April to retire on September 30th. Her employer has confirmed that Capita received the request, yet Capita has been unable to provide any indication of when she will receive her pension quotation, let alone her first payment. 6 months and nothing, no certainty.
As a result, she has been left with only two options: either cancel her retirement and restart the entire process at a later date, or retire as planned without any certainty about what her income will be or when she will receive it.
Because of her caring responsibilities, she has been forced to choose the second option. She described it to me as a leap of faith. After four decades of service, she is entering retirement without knowing when her pension will arrive or how much she will receive.
The bottom line is that Capita’s mismanagement of these cases is unacceptable. People who have devoted their working lives to public service should not be forced to fight for access to the pensions they have earned.
I spoke in a debate earlier this week where I urged the government to set out what immediate action is being taken to address these ongoing failures. I also pressed on them to ensure that pension cases are processed without further delay, and to provide reassurance to the thousands of pensioners and future pensioners who deserve far better than the service they are currently receiving.
