Capita said the service for civil service pensions has not been good enough after a backlog left some people waiting months for payments. Anne Sinclaire has been waiting six months for her widow's pension from GCHQ in Cheltenham after Brian died in March.
She and Brian were married for 36 years. After he died, she said she was told the full pension would continue for three months while paperwork was processed.
Anne Sinclaire and Brian
Sinclaire said she paid off the funeral, which was £7,000, and the memorial stone, which was £800, expecting pension income to follow. She said the delay forced her to put off paying credit card bills, which left her facing higher interest charges.
She said, "It makes me so angry" and added, "To cut funds off entirely from people going through bereavement is cruel." After the contacted Capita about her case, she received a lump-sum payment into her bank account.
Widows and Avril Coleman
Sinclaire said she still had not received anything in writing explaining what she is owed. Sandy Blindell said she waited more than a year for her widow's pension, while Avril Coleman said she retired in May after giving five months' notice and is still waiting for her pension.
Coleman said she contacts the company at least twice a month for updates. "They have got telephone agents, taking all the calls and they're just following scripts and if you ask a question that isn't on their script they can't answer," she said.
Capita took over administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme in December 2025, and the delays have drawn attention to how long some retired civil servants and widows are waiting for payments. The company said it recognised the service has not been good enough, leaving the backlog question at the center of whether payments are reaching people when they most need them.
