A 66-year-old woman has been told she must repay £32,000 after being overpaid her civil service pension due to administrative errors by MyCSP, the scheme's former manager. Her monthly income has been cut from £19,700 to £12,000 a year, and she faces paying £100 a month until she is 93, with a charge placed on her house as security. She questioned the payments in 2021 and 2025 but was assured they were correct.
MyCSP admitted in 2019 that 2,000 pensioners collectively owed £2.7m in overpayments because of its miscalculations. The Cabinet Office, which now oversees the scheme, insists it must recover the money under Treasury rules, but says it offers flexible repayment plans. Similar cases have affected NHS and Royal Mail pensioners, with some facing life-changing debt.
An 83-year-old former Post Office worker was told 16 years after retiring that she owed £20,000, and her income was cut by a third. The NHS Business Services Authority offered a £1,000 goodwill payment to one pensioner after miscalculating his pension by £35,000. The Cabinet Office has confirmed that recovery action will be suspended if a complaint is made to the Pensions Ombudsman.
