“PCS has been pressing for months for compensation for scheme members whose payments of lump sum and pension have not been made.”
From the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS)
The Cabinet Office has confirmed that members of the Civil Service Pension Scheme who have experienced unacceptable delays will be eligible to receive compensation for distress and inconvenience.
In addition to interest on late payments, members of the Civil Service Pension Scheme who have experienced unacceptable delays will be eligible to receive compensation for distress and inconvenience. This has been confirmed by Satvir Kaur MP, parliamentary secretary at the Cabinet Office, in reply to a parliamentary question from John McDonnell MP, chair of the PCS parliamentary group.
Under the standards set out by the Pensions Ombudsman in 2018, non-financial compensation is in a relatively modest range between £500 and £2000. The value of this has been eroded by inflation and, in our view, does not match the unprecedented suffering of being left without income experienced by so many members who retired during 2025 and 2026. The reply in parliament acknowledges that specific costs, such as bank penalties and interest charges, should be met in addition to non-financial compensation. Interest due on late payments made by Capita will be paid at the Bank of England base rate plus 1%.
PCS has been pressing for months for compensation for scheme members whose payments of lump sum and pension have not been made. As there is a danger that dealing with individual claims could take resources away from eliminating the backlog, we will demand that the Cabinet Office publishes details of an accessible and understandable process without delay. In the meantime, we advise those affected to retain evidence of specific additional costs they have incurred due to non-payment of pension benefits.
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- This was originally published on the PCS website on 18 March 2026.
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