A Glasgow widow has spoken of her profound distress after a nine-month delay in receiving her late husband’s civil service pension, a situation she says is preventing her from moving on after his sudden death. Kay Donald’s husband, Barry, passed away last September, just a week before their 34th wedding anniversary. His pension, now administered by outsourcing firm Capita, has yet to be paid out.
Pension Administration Woes
Capita took over the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme, which has approximately 1.7 million members, in December of last year. Since then, BBC Scotland has reported on numerous cases of individuals experiencing delays in accessing lump-sum payments and ongoing pension income.
Kay Donald, 62, described her experience with Capita as deeply frustrating. She stated, ‘I have phoned umpteen times, I’ve emailed, I have written letters of complaint. I’ve been constant with them, I’ve got my MSP onto them, I’ve got my solicitor onto them. It’s just very frustrating.’
Barry Donald, 63, had worked for Social Security Scotland for five years and previously spent 26 years with Asda. Following his death, his employers provided condolences and the necessary forms to initiate the pension process. Kay submitted these forms in October, along with all requested documentation, but has yet to receive any payments.
Emotional Toll of Delays
The ongoing delays are taking a significant emotional toll on Kay. ‘I have terrible days, but I have a lot of good days as well. But my terrible days tend to be with the pressure of having to chase this up again,’ she explained. She expressed a feeling of being treated as if she were making a fraudulent claim, stating, ‘I’m really not. It’s death in service. And they just don’t seem to care really. It’s like they’ve got no conscience at all. Nothing seems to be working. It’s distressing.’
Kay believes the situation is preventing her family from moving forward. ‘We can’t get moving on while this is still ongoing,’ she added.
Wider Systemic Issues
Kay Donald is not an isolated case. Elaine Muirhead, from Bishopbriggs, also died suddenly in early December last year. Her daughter, Rachel Shankland, 28, has faced similar challenges in settling her mother’s civil service pension. Rachel reported contacting Capita on multiple occasions and sending requested information in late December. However, she was subsequently informed that a letter of representation from a solicitor would be required, a request that caused confusion and potential unnecessary costs.
Rachel stated, ‘This could have cost us solicitor and court fees for something that we did not need.’ The family also received incorrect information regarding complaints procedures and were mistakenly sent a form intended for another family with the same surname. While the family eventually received a payout last Thursday, it came without accompanying paperwork, and there is still no sign of the ongoing pension payments due to Rachel’s stepfather.
Capita’s Response and Contractual Concerns
Capita officially assumed the £239 million contract to manage the Civil Service Pension Scheme six months ago. A report from the public accounts committee in October 2025 had warned that Capita might not be adequately prepared for the transition, anticipating fewer staff than the previous administrators. These warnings have, unfortunately, proven accurate.
Since the takeover, scheme members have reported issues with the online portal, extended wait times for customer service, and a failure to receive payments. Capita stated that it inherited a backlog of over 86,000 cases, significantly more than the 37,000 anticipated. This backlog had grown to over 120,000 cases by early February.
In response to the escalating crisis, the UK government introduced a recovery plan in February, involving 150 government staff and 100 additional Capita staff to prioritise urgent cases, alongside an emergency interest-free loan scheme.
Capita bosses have apologised for the issues, promising to resolve urgent cases by the end of March. However, the company has also faced criticism for a data breach in April and the termination of its contract to run the Royal Mail pension scheme due to a failure to meet ‘critical transition milestones’.
Paymaster General Nick Symonds described the stories of members missing mortgage payments and facing hardship as ‘distressing and entirely unacceptable.’ He added, ‘No-one should have to face such financial anxiety after a lifetime of dedicated public service.’
A Capita spokesperson stated, ‘We are sorry for the worry and frustration these delays are causing. We are continuing to work with the Cabinet Office to establish normal service levels. Additional trained resource remains in place, and our focus is on ensuring members of the Civil Service Pension Scheme receive the service they expect and deserve.’
Fran Heathcote, general secretary of the PCS Union, highlighted that thousands of members are unable to retire as planned due to the inability to access their pensions. She expressed concerns about Capita’s assurances that problems would be resolved by July, stating, ‘There is no indication this will happen.’ Heathcote suggested it is ‘crunch time for the government to make a decision’ and questioned the continued funding of emergency measures to assist Capita, arguing for a potential return of the work in-house.
