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Responding to the National Audit Office's investigation into members' experience of civil service pension administration – published recently – FDA General Secretary Dave Penman said:

"Our members have endured delays in payments of pension; inaccuracies in statements, quotes and payments; unanswered calls, letters and emails; and a chronic level of service that would be utterly unacceptable in the private sector.

"We welcome the NAO's investigation and support its recommendations - in particular the prioritisation of a thorough data cleansing exercise that is crucial to members getting the pension they have saved for, and for taxpayers to be confident in the proper cost management of the scheme.

"While MyCSP has improved, the FDA remains very concerned about its capacity to handle the vast number of exits being processed at the moment and the forthcoming Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) reconciliation requirement. Should the Chancellor decide to make changes to pension tax relief in the forthcoming Budget, we simply do not believe the scheme administration could cope."

Notes for editors

1. Read the full MyCSP investigation report here. 
2. The FDA is the trade union for the UK's senior public servants and professionals. FDA membership includes more than 18,000 senior civil servants, Government policy advisors, prosecutors, diplomats, tax professionals, economists, solicitors and other professionals working across Government and the NHS.
3. More about the FDA's 'New Government: New Deal' campaign can be found at www.fda.org.uk/New-Government-New-Deal
4. The FDA (formerly the First Division Association) should be referred to simply as "The FDA" and can be described as "the senior public servants' union".
5. The FDA can be found on Twitter @FDA_union and at www.fda.org.uk.

For further information contact:

• Dave Penman, FDA General Secretary, tel: 020 7401 5555 or 07967 503827.
• Katie Lazell, Communications Officer, tel: 020 7401 5555 or 07939 257985.