Thousands of expat civil servants are facing money problems because a government flagship pension payment scheme has broken down.
MyCSP was meant to deliver fast and efficient pension payments to 1.5 million former civil servants as a joint government venture with private sector firm Equiniti.
The system was meant to pay out more than £4 billion a year to retired civil servants.
However, MyCSP keeps hitting snags that have led to delays in paying pensions – especially to expats.
This has led to huge embarrassment for the government after Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude announced the cutting edge technology would set new service levels.
MyCSP embarrassment
“This project will turn a neglected back office system into a competitive and responsible business and the whole world is watching in anticipation,” he said.
Civil servants from all over the world are complaining about delays in receiving their pension payments.
The problem was triggered when the payment software was switched between providers in October 2014. What was promised to be a seamless hand over soon broke down.
Now, Equiniti staff have a massive backlog of late payments and mountain of complaints to deal with. Civil servants are moaning that they cannot contact the firm and they are sometimes waiting weeks for action.
The union PCS, which looks after the interests of around half the 350 MyCSP staff has stepped in calling for talks with MyCSP executives.
“This is appalling for civil servants waiting for their money and for the staff who have to deal with a stressful situation which is not of their making,” said a spokesman.
Teething problems
The union also claims the pension process is worsening because many experienced staff have left MyCSP.
A MyCSP spokesman explained the agency is paying out 660,000pensions and a ‘small number’ have had problems with payment delays.
“We are working hard to put this right,” said the spokesman. “We have taken on extra staff and are open for longer hours to deal with calls and complaints.
“This will be sorted out and the service we deliver will improve.
“These are teething problems and we understand the frustrations of the people who are not getting paid on time.”
The Cabinet Office argued that many of the complaints and payment issues were due to legacy problems relating to the previous administrators that MyCSP inherited and was unfairly blamed for causing.
“Most of our pensions were paid on time and in full,” said the spokesman, “But a few slipped through the net and we are working to put this right.”
