The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has called for an urgent halt to plans to close the Research Council Pension Scheme (RCPS) and transfer members into the Civil Service Alpha pension scheme, warning that proceeding would put members at “serious risk”.

In a letter to the RCPS Project Board, PCS argued that ongoing pension administration failures and a lack of meaningful consultation meant the closure process should be paused indefinitely.

The union’s intervention came as the employer confirmed it is reviewing Capita’s readiness to proceed with the transfer, with a further update expected by the end of May.

PCS said the continued issues meant “the only responsible course of action” was to halt the closure rather than proceed based on assurances from Capita.

The union also pointed to growing parliamentary and public scrutiny surrounding Capita’s administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

According to PCS, MPs and peers have repeatedly raised concerns over delays to pension payments, including cases where retirees have waited months to receive expected income.

The union also highlighted criticism from parliamentary committees, which it said had described service levels as “unacceptable” and continued to scrutinise Capita’s performance.

PCS further noted that ministers had acknowledged shortcomings in the service delivered to civil servants, with the financial impact on members described as unacceptable.

This led to the government terminating Capita's contract for the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme last month.

The union argued that this wider context reinforced the risks associated with transferring additional members into the scheme.

In its letter, PCS also raised concerns about Capita’s ongoing administration of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme, despite what it described as significant public investment and recovery efforts involving civil servants.

Among the issues highlighted were long delays in pension payments to retired members, ongoing concerns about the accuracy of pension quotations, and the failure to deliver promised service improvements, including a functioning member portal.

With this in mind, PCS said it would be “irresponsible” to transfer thousands of additional RCPS members into a system still experiencing “fundamental problems”.

The union also expressed concerns that consultation on the proposed closure had effectively stalled since January.

PCS said trade unions had not been able to properly assess the impact on members, while workforce issues affecting staff at JSS and UK Shared Business Services remained unresolved.

It also claimed there had been no meaningful engagement on the risks associated with the transfer.

The union warned against rushing the consultation to meet what it described as a “self-imposed deadline”.

PCS said all available evidence suggested that proceeding with the transfer at this stage would cause “immediate detriment” to both active and retired members.

Therefore, the union is calling for an immediate and indefinite pause to the closure of the RCPS, alongside a commitment to full consultation with trade unions before any further decisions are made.

PCS is also seeking a joint review of in-house administration options, including retaining services within JSS, in line with government commitments to expand insourcing.

Capital and the Research Council did not respond to a request for comment.

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