“Thousands of retired or retiring members of the civil service pension scheme are yet to receive their pension because of Capita’s mishandling of the contract.”
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) have shared the stories of retired or retiring civil servants affected by the Capita scandal
Thousands of retired or retiring members of the civil service pension scheme are yet to receive their pension because of Capita’s mishandling of the contract.
PCS continues to meet weekly with representatives of the Cabinet Office to address this unacceptable situation. And last month, dozens of protesters took to the streets of Westminster to voice their anger over this crisis. The protest came as the government sent signals that it is considering bringing the scheme back in-house to be serviced by civil servants.
As John McDonnell MP told the rally, we can’t simply wait for the government to conduct reviews and consult stakeholders: “We can’t stand by and watch this company rip us off, make massive profits and pay their chief executive hundreds of thousands of pounds, when our people are living in poverty as a result of their failure.”
PCS has already shared many harrowing Capita stories across our communications channels. Meet three more people who’ve had their retirements upended, and their livelihoods threatened: Judy-Ann, Mark and Paul.
Judy-Ann’s story
One of many victims of this scandal is Judy-Ann Goodman, who worked for the Metropolitan Police as a member of police staff for over 20 years.
Judy-Ann retired on 7 May 2026. Receiving no clarity on her civil service pension, she was eventually forced to access her private pension earlier than she intended.
“Despite retiring nearly two months ago, I have received no retirement options paperwork and no pension payments,” she explains. “No lump sum payment, no meaningful responses to my emails or formal complaint, and no IDR Stage 1 paperwork despite repeated promises.”
After giving 20 years of dedicated service to the Metropolitan Police, she never expected to find herself in this position: “I am extremely worried about my financial situation and simply do not know where else to turn.”
She had also planned to use her retirement lump sum to join her mother and daughter on a cruise that had been booked for November.
“What should have been a happy occasion to celebrate both my retirement and my mother’s milestone birthday has,” she adds, “instead become a period of significant uncertainty and stress.”
Mark’s story
Mark Yearling, a driving examiner at the DVSA, has been a loyal civil servant since 1992. After being diagnosed with incurable cancer in December 2024, he and his wife decided he needed to cut his working hours, but they couldn’t afford to fully retire.
On 28 December 2025, he took partial retirement. But to date, he has not received any monthly payments – money he had been budgeting for.
He has been forced to use his lump sum and money from another pension to pay his mortgage and bills. And he describes this loss of financial security as “devastating” and “shameful”.
“I am now experiencing extreme financial difficulties, living off my current salary alone, causing large credit card debts,” he tells PCS. “The mental stress caused by balancing monthly costs has also worsened my physical health.”
Paul’s story
Paul Roberts joined the civil service pension scheme on 4 August 1986, when he became a traffic warden in the Metropolitan Police. In 2002, he transferred to a police community support officer role, one he proudly held until his retirement this year.
Now, after over 39 years of service to the civil service, he is “extremely worried about how we cover bills”. After delays in receiving his estimates, he has since been told by Capita that it will be months before he gets his first pension payments.
But like many thousands of retirees across the country, Paul simply cannot wait.
“I still have two dependent teenage children who rely on me financially, so no pay for four months is a big worry as we are all dependent on my wife’s salary,” he says.
“She is now subject to a restructure and likely to be made redundant, so we will have no income until the pension arrives, which is affecting my mental health.”
What you can do
Email your MP using our quick tool to ask them to intervene in this crisis. You can also ask your MP to challenge the awarding of the Synergy payroll and HR contract to Capita.
PCS has secured a commitment that Capita will prioritise cases escalated on behalf of members. Scheme members should therefore continue to escalate cases through pensions@pcs.org.uk
Members should also register for the member portal and use the complaints procedure. PCS members can also email us at editor@pcs.org.uk if you have delayed your retirement because of the pensions crisis.
- You can follow the PCS on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram, and their General Secretary Fran Heathcote on Twitter/X.
- This was originally published on the PCS website on 12 August 2026.
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