Concerns continue to be raised over the transition of administration for the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS), following the move to Capita and the launch of a new online pension portal in December.

The transition, which involved transferring administration from MyCSP to Capita, included the rollout of a new digital portal designed to allow members to access and manage their pension information.

However, since launch, members have reported difficulties registering for the portal, as well as discrepancies in key data, such as recorded length of service and beneficiary details.

The latest concerns follow a meeting on 10 December between the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) and the Cabinet Office, at which officials acknowledged a system bug affecting the accuracy of service records and beneficiary information.

According to PCS, issues identified include data mapping problems during the transfer from MyCSP to Capita, resulting in validation failures and defects within the new system.

It was also stated that some cases linked to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ voluntary exit scheme, which were due to be completed in October, remain unresolved.

At the meeting, the Cabinet Office reportedly confirmed that there are currently around 86,000 cases in the administrative backlog.

PCS said it has requested regular progress updates and has intervened on behalf of members experiencing overdue payments.

The union also pushed back against suggestions that industrial action taken by Capita staff may be responsible for the scale of the backlog.

PCS said both MyCSP and the Cabinet Office had previously acknowledged that between 30,000 and 40,000 cases were outstanding prior to strike action.

The transition has taken place during what PCS described as a particularly challenging period for scheme administration, coinciding with the processing of McCloud remedy cases, voluntary exit schemes and a volume of routine retirements.

Concerns about the readiness of the new administration arrangements were previously highlighted by the Public Accounts Committee, which warned in October that there was a “clear risk” Capita would not be fully prepared to take over administration of the scheme by the planned start date of 1 December 2025.

Responding to the concerns, a Capita spokesperson said: “We can confirm that 135,000 members have now registered on the site, and registrations continue to increase rapidly.

“Due to the significant backlog inherited from the last provider, we have experienced several times the normal volume of contacts since launch.

"Capita has over 500 full-time employees working to deliver the Civil Service Pension Scheme, an increase of 50 per cent on the previous provider.

"The team is doing everything we can to clear this backlog. Since the start of December, payments of over £600m have been made.”

Capita also stated that it had set out the scale of the inherited work-in-progress backlog in a letter to the Public Accounts Committee in the week prior to the scheme going live, noting that the volume of outstanding cases left by MyCSP was more than double the previously agreed figure of 37,000 items at the time of contract signature.

However, the firm acknowledged that there were “teething problems” with the portal during the first week of operation, which it said were resolved shortly after launch.

Capita added that it is undertaking a phased rollout of the new system to ensure continuity of service while introducing new functionality, including tools such as 'Track My Case', 'Retire Online' and personalised dashboards.

Meanwhile, PCS has warned that if Capita fails to meet contractual service levels, responsibility for administering the scheme should be brought back in-house under direct ministerial control.

Looking ahead, PCS negotiators are scheduled to meet scheme representatives next week to press for additional resources to support a recovery plan aimed at reducing the backlog and resolving outstanding cases.

The union said it would continue to monitor and report on progress.

The Cabinet Office did not respond to a request for comment.

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