Kay Donald describes 9-month Capita Civil Service Pension Delays

Kay Donald says the capita civil service pension delays have left her without any payments since her husband Barry died last October, almost nine months ago. She said the problem has stopped her from moving on, after she sent the forms and documentation in October to start accessing his pension.

Barry Donald died a week before the couple’s 34th wedding anniversary. Kay Donald said she has phoned, emailed and written letters of complaint, but still has not received any pension money.

Kay Donald and Barry Donald

Kay said those at Capita “don't seem to care” and added: “I have phoned umpteen times, I've emailed, I have written letters of complaint.” She also said: “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 had worked at Social Security Scotland for the last five years before his death. Before that, he spent 26 years working for Asda.

Capita Civil Service Pension Scheme

Capita won the contract in 2023 and took over administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme in December last year. The scheme has about 1.7 million members, and Scotland has previously highlighted that thousands of people have been unable to access lump-sum payments or ongoing pension income because of problems with Capita's systems.

Capita apologised for the “worry and frustration” being caused by delays and said it was working to establish normal service levels. For members waiting on payments, that means the immediate issue is not a one-off delay but a wider administration problem affecting both lump sums and regular income.

Kay’s complaint now sits at the point where she has already used repeated phone calls, emails, letters, her MSP and a solicitor. Until the scheme’s service returns to normal, widows and other members in the same position are left waiting for money that should already be in payment.