Civil service pensions have faced significant delays due to a growing backlog of over 30,000 cases. Retired civil servants, as well as their families, are experiencing late or missing payments, with the administrator, Capita, managing an increasing workload. Capita took over the civil service pension scheme in December 2025, which had already been struggling with a backlog of 86,000 cases. By February 2026, the number had risen to 120,000, prompting criticism from the government. Capita admitted its management of the scheme, which covers 1.7 million people, was "not good enough," leading to increased scrutiny and the eventual termination of its contract for the Royal Mail pension scheme in April. In response to the crisis, Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds announced the formation of a taskforce with over 140 members to help civil servants access their pensions. Additionally, an interest-free emergency loan of up to £20,000 was introduced for those waiting on payments, though it will be repaid through future pension deductions. The government has emphasized that this loan will not be funded by public money, and the costs will be recovered directly from Capita. Thomas-Symonds also suggested that the civil service pension scheme may be brought back in-house in the future, citing Capita’s failures. The government has withheld £9.9 million in payments to Capita over its handling of the scheme. The delays are affecting a wide range of individuals, including those nearing retirement, recently retired civil servants, and the widows of former employees. According to the Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance (CSPA), over 17,000 members are still waiting for a retirement quote, and more than 13,000 bereavement cases remain unresolved. Capita has started providing regular updates on the number of cases that have been in the backlog for over 100 days. In a recent update, it reported that 1,069 bereavement cases, 288 payment-related cases, and 308 "death in service" cases were still unresolved after this period. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which represents civil servants, has reported that many are delaying their retirements due to concerns about pension management. Philippa, a member of the union, had planned to retire in September 2025 but withdrew her application after encountering unanswered questions and reports of retirees not receiving payments. She described the situation as highly stressful and said it has disrupted her plans for financial and mental well-being. Similarly, Gill, who worked for the Department for Work and Pensions for over 40 years, has postponed her retirement to January 2027 after seeing many colleagues not receive their pensions or lump sums. She described the situation as emotionally distressing, saying she should be looking forward to retirement, not worrying about it.