I don't know if this is the correct forum to reach out to other Brits about their UK Sourced Pension. For 2 years I have experienced huge problems with the Civil Service Pensions outfit. These comprise incorrect information when I needed to have my pension paid directly into my Thai Bank after Barclays closed accounts for Brits without a UK address.

 

They finally added an extra requirement and I managed to get the competed mandate sent. Next thing happened lasted for 15 months. I was locked out of my Portal until I found an independent site which told me how to reopen it. Apparently the MyCSP staff had locked me out because I used a wrong access code but omitted telling me.

 

Then they wrote stating I had been overpaid on my pension and demanded reimbursement for their mistake. That was a few thousand quid which suddenly reduced after weeks of debate so I paid it -- by installment. During this issue which lasted around 6 months, I received an email asking why I had not replied to their letters. It turned out they had put an incomplete address into their computed which I discovered after some kind postal worker added Thailand to the envelope which took 16 weeks to arrive. I suggested they should reformat my address into 5 lines then their next letter did arrive.

 

Then even more problems which I'll leave for now to write about the latest events. I finished paying the alleged overpayment in Spring this year and a week later I received an email demanding I repay more overpayments again 0000's of quid dating back 7 years. My case was referred to other offices who sent questionnaires which I completed and returned within 24 hours. They didn't write again but I was assured that a panel of experts were looking at my case{s}/complaints and would make contact with 5 working days. Nothing received after 3 weeks and now they have now suspended my pension payment and will not answer my emails again.

 

So, last night I Googled where to make a serious complaint against MyCSP staff and amongst pages of stuff I found this link. It is a report on the finding of the Cabinet National Audit Board who list all the complaints which I've experienced and much more. This office is so bad that they have now had their contract terminated and the job will be taken over by CAPITA in December. Anyone in their 70's may remember how inefficient CAPITA were pre millennium and they are already 3 stages in default his time before fully taking over.

 

Obviously I want my July and future pension payments but my major concern is for my future Thai widow. We have been married 24 years and she's stuck by me all this time knowing she would inherit a pension once I've gone. But who knows?. This is the main reason for posting this epistle hoping other guys in my situation would be aware of the future changes. This is the Audit link.   https://www.nao.org.uk/press-releases/cabinet-office-must-improve-customer-experience-in-civil-service-pension-scheme/#:~:text=Cabinet Office has contracted with,member administration prior to 2014.

 

How will she inherit a state pension? that stopped years ago

6 minutes ago, yosib157 said:

I don't know if this is the correct forum to reach out to other Brits about their UK Sourced Pension.

 

Maybe better placed in the "UK and Europe Topics and Events" section but give it a few days here and request a mod to move if it's not getting much traction here.

 

https://aseannow.com/forum/337-uk-europe-topics-and-events/

 

10 minutes ago, yosib157 said:

This office is so bad that they have now had their contract terminated and the job will be taken over by CAPITA

 

I wouldn't crack open the champagne just yet......CAPITA runs other government pension schemes and it's no walk in the park dealing with them.

 

Guaranteed response time........10 days.

 

Trick......tick the box "media related" when asking something......and they will answer in 24 hours.

Just now, proton said:

How will she inherit a state pension? that stopped years ago

 

He specifically mentioned it was a civil service pension so not the UK state pension.

2 minutes ago, proton said:

How will she inherit a state pension? that stopped years ago

 

If he retired before 2016 and you are talking about the state pension, she might be entitled to an element depending on his pension history.

What a shambles! I can understand you being worried and angry.

I have not had any problems with my pension administrator, but I have arranged for my children to have power of attorney for my wife so they can help her to get her pension when the time comes. The PoA is in my pension admin files.

3 minutes ago, proton said:

How will she inherit a state pension? that stopped years ago

Correct but I'm discussing the Civil Service Pension Scheme aka MyCSP

Just now, chickenslegs said:

What a shambles! I can understand you being worried and angry.

I have not had any problems with my pension administrator, but I have arranged for my children to have power of attorney for my wife so they can help her to get her pension when the time comes. The PoA is in my pension admin files.

Please could you send personal email about PoA

Just now, yosib157 said:

Please could you send personal email about PoA

Will do.

7 minutes ago, treetops said:

 

Maybe better placed in the "UK and Europe Topics and Events" section but give it a few days here and request a mod to move if it's not getting much traction here.

 

https://aseannow.com/forum/337-uk-europe-topics-and-events/

 

Thanks, I'll consider that as an option. Although I'm surprised at the amount of readers already logged into it. 

19 minutes ago, yosib157 said:

Please could you send personal email about PoA

 

Email your pension administrator and tell them to email you the form for your widow to claim your pension on your demise.

 

Fill it in with all the details, and keep it in a safe place, for your wife to send when you fall off your perch.

 

POA is also another way to go.

 

I would do it soonest, before Crapita get involved.

33 minutes ago, proton said:

How will she inherit a state pension? that stopped years ago

It's civil service pension, not state ..she can received anything upto 60% of his pension payment depending on where he worked

2 minutes ago, The Cyclist said:

 

Email your pension administrator and tell them to email you the form for your widow to claim your pension on your demise.

 

Fill it in with all the details, and keep it in a safe place, for your wife to send when you fall off your perch.

 

POA is also another way to go.

 

I would do it soonest, before Crapita get involved.

Thanks but I completed all that with the Pension Office years ago. Filed already at home I have completed a portfolio containing all the necessary information required in both English and Thai. We have a (teacher) niece next door who will help the missus and maybe a fellow Brit who will move permanently to the village next June. He will help out if I last that long. Problem is that I have written covering letters and everything required all addressed in brown envelope ready to post once they get the death certificate translated. All this is done but unfortunately addressed to MyCSP which I will need to rehash once CAPITA take the reins. Months of work but should be easy to amend.

4 minutes ago, baansgr said:

It's civil service pension, not state ..she can received anything upto 60% of his pension payment depending on where he worked

Absolutely. I worked this out years back. Then they changed the schemes and amounts to be paid would be governed by the widows age. However, she's now 52 so should get a bigger percentage. 

I had the same problem with the address length a few years back, and like you I had to get them to compress it into fewer lines. Receiving mail from them is still a bit hit-and-miss, but that is really due to the vagaries of the Thai Post Office. I didn't get the "Declaration of Entitlement" (same as the DWP's Life Certificate) in the post until late June, but I'd already heard about it and got them to email me one.

 

I got locked out of my account back in March, when the app used for 2-factor i/d didn't work any more. I didn't get any response  to an email asking for help, and ended up submitting a written complaint (sorry, I can't remember to whom or which department I addressed it). I got an email after a few weeks advising that my account had been re-set so I was able to log back on, set a new password and the only option for 2-factor i/d was SMS, which worked fine. I've just logged on again now to make sure.

 

Like other posters, I'm not optimistic that a transfer to Capita will be beneficial. 

 

Edit: I've now found the letter which was simply addressed to Complaints Department, MyCSP, PO Box 2017 Liverpool L69 2BU. It reminds me that in addition to emailing them unsuccessfully I tried phoning them, the switchboard transferred me to the "Portals Team" but after waiting for 20 minutes for them to answer I gave up. Not impressive, but at least the letter did the trick.

13 minutes ago, Eff1n2ret said:

I had the same problem with the address length a few years back, and like you I had to get them to compress it into fewer lines. Receiving mail from them is still a bit hit-and-miss, but that is really due to the vagaries of the Thai Post Office. I didn't get the "Declaration of Entitlement" (same as the DWP's Life Certificate) in the post until late June, but I'd already heard about it and got them to email me one.

 

I got locked out of my account back in March, when the app used for 2-factor i/d didn't work any more. I didn't get any response  to an email asking for help, and ended up submitting a written complaint (sorry, I can't remember to whom or which department I addressed it). I got an email after a few weeks advising that my account had been re-set so I was able to log back on, set a new password and the only option for 2-factor i/d was SMS, which worked fine. I've just logged on again now to make sure.

 

Like other posters, I'm not optimistic that a transfer to Capita will be beneficial. 

 

Edit: I've now found the letter which was simply addressed to Complaints Department, MyCSP, PO Box 2017 Liverpool L69 2BU. It reminds me that in addition to emailing them unsuccessfully I tried phoning them, the switchboard transferred me to the "Portals Team" but after waiting for 20 minutes for them to answer I gave up. Not impressive, but at least the letter did the trick.

Ditto to everything. That Cabinet report lists the 90,000 phonecalls were missed and other statistics. I spent 200 thb on a card which died while I was still listening to robots. I have them my LINE, Whatsapp, Facebook, Skype and other media contacts but they still don't connect.

2 hours ago, yosib157 said:

I have them my LINE, Whatsapp, Facebook, Skype and other media contacts but they still don't connect.

Sorry for your troubles however I don't understand the line I quoted?

Are you suggesting that they have a Line ID? I doubt that more than 100% but welcome a correction if wrong.

 

I would be surprised if they had the others as well so can you please clarify?

Under pressure and I should have written I GAVE them my LINE etc. to make communication easier. During the Barclays fiasco a charming young lady from the State Pensions Office actually telephoned me to confirm and expedite the bank change. MyCSP do not and will not call.

On 8/17/2025 at 12:02 PM, The Cyclist said:

Email your pension administrator and tell them to email you the form for your widow to claim your pension on your demise.

 

@yosib157  - the form which your wife will need to complete in order to claim her widow's pension can be downloaded via the first link indicated below. Please note that only sections A-D and H-I of this excessively lengthy form will be relevant in her case.

 

https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/media/2zlcgsvn/mycsp-dependant-pension-claim-form-updated-december-2023-interactive.pdf

 

She will also need to complete another form in order to get this pension paid into her Thai bank account, which is downloadable via the following second link.

 

https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/media/0n2dmr3u/mandate-thailand-master.pdf

 

EDIT: Sorry, I missed your subsequent reply.

7 hours ago, OJAS said:

 

@yosib157  - the form which your wife will need to complete in order to claim her widow's pension can be downloaded via the first link indicated below. Please note that only sections A-D and H-I of this excessively lengthy form will be relevant in her case.

 

https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/media/2zlcgsvn/mycsp-dependant-pension-claim-form-updated-december-2023-interactive.pdf

 

She will also need to complete another form in order to get this pension paid into her Thai bank account, which is downloadable via the following second link.

 

https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/media/0n2dmr3u/mandate-thailand-master.pdf

 

EDIT: Sorry, I missed your subsequent reply.

Thanks for the info. I had already printed all that information for her and helpers to include with the translated death certificate and other information. However, that would probably be ignored as the correct forms you mentioned will be necessary. I'll get those downloaded today and complete then. Unless another Brit or English speaker is a available at the time, completing forms would be a nightmare. I've spent months collating what I think will be required but probably missed a lot. Thanks again. I posted this not only for me to get advice but helping other CSP members. There are even complaints about their gross inefficiencies on Google Maps and a lot of other media sites.

On 8/17/2025 at 12:18 PM, yosib157 said:

Absolutely. I worked this out years back. Then they changed the schemes and amounts to be paid would be governed by the widows age. However, she's now 52 so should get a bigger percentage. 

 

It's always been my understanding that the amount of the pension which our widows will receive is principally dependent on our age and under which CS pension scheme, past or present, we are covered as a result.

 

 

7 hours ago, yosib157 said:

Thanks for the info. I had already printed all that information for her and helpers to include with the translated death certificate and other information. However, that would probably be ignored as the correct forms you mentioned will be necessary. I'll get those downloaded today and complete then. Unless another Brit or English speaker is a available at the time, completing forms would be a nightmare. I've spent months collating what I think will be required but probably missed a lot. Thanks again. I posted this not only for me to get advice but helping other CSP members. There are even complaints about their gross inefficiencies on Google Maps and a lot of other media sites.

 

In addition to the "joys" of dealing with MyCSP/Capita, our widows will also have to suffer the arguably even more "joyful" experience of dealing with HMRC. This is because, as I understand it, their pensions will be paid less the UK standard tax rate of 20% (currently). They will then need to file a completed form R43 with HMRC in due course each year in order to claim the annual personal allowance (currently £12,570) and obtain reimbursement of their tax deductions:

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67ea62b2ea9f8afd8105622d/R43_Manual_2024.pdf

 

Moreover, my understanding is that our Thai widows will need to declare their pensions as assessable income in tax returns filed locally with the TRD, as a result of Article 19 of the UK/Thailand Double Taxation Agreement:

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a80bddc40f0b623026953eb/uk-thailand-dtc180281_-_in_force.pdf

 

However, I strongly suspect that you are already well aware of all this in any event! For my part, I've provided my sister (who I'm hoping will still be around after I've popped my clogs) and wife with a dual-language note in English and (with the assistance of Google Translate) Thai, in the hope that, between them, they'll be able to get everything sorted OK.

 

 

 

I wrote somewhere that I knew the widows pension had age constraints but mine is now 52 so should get the full amount. I also double checked which scheme I belong to. On my phone now so no access to my files but there are different rules for the different schemes. My own problems get worse as they have now suspended my pension without explanation. Now 3 weeks late and my older brother, who occasionally dealt with such issues, unfortunately passed away a few weeks ago. I have nobody else to look into things here or over there. They allegedly overpaid me which I repaid finishing off around March then in May they claimed more overpayment going back 7 years. I strongly refuted this and didn't agree to repay by installments. As you say, HMRC hammer me for tax but she will need to sort that out for herself after I'm gone.

I'm a little busy today with garden path repairs and tomorrow is my quarterly day at the Hospital which takes around 9 hours. So Thursday is my next scheduled day for paperwork. Maybe MyCSP will have answered some of my outstanding emails by then. Miracles can happen.

The retired section of my staff association from my time in the Home Office recently circulated members to advise that staff from MyCsp were striking over the move to Capital, and this would affect responses.

Unfortunately l seem to have deleted the circular so cannot post here.

21 minutes ago, theoldgit said:

The retired section of my staff association from my time in the Home Office recently circulated members to advise that staff from MyCsp were striking over the move to Capital, and this would affect responses.

Unfortunately l seem to have deleted the circular so cannot post here.

That sounds about right. Go on strike and bo*****s to the members. My July pension hasn't been paid to me yet and they have ignored 5 emails. Health issues prevent me from going over there so I have no idea what to do about it. As some other reader said and I already know if CAPITA are equally as useless.

19 hours ago, yosib157 said:

That sounds about right. Go on strike and bo*****s to the members. My July pension hasn't been paid to me yet and they have ignored 5 emails. Health issues prevent me from going over there so I have no idea what to do about it. As some other reader said and I already know if CAPITA are equally as useless.

Further to my yesterday's response, A1 on Google search gave me an article confirming your suspicion that MyCSP are on strike. I'll copy and paste an extract from the article. I doubt that I will get any answers to my issues before CAPITA take over at the year's end.  However there was another article saying the end was near. Same as many other current conflicts.

 

Extract here ..........

Yes, the MyCSP staff in the UK, who are PCS union members, are currently on strike. The strike, which began in early July, is over MyCSP's refusal to recognize the union and engage in formal consultation during the transfer of the Civil Service Pension Scheme contract to Capita. The initial six-week strike has been extended for another six weeks. 

 

H

2 hours ago, yosib157 said:

Further to my yesterday's response, A1 on Google search gave me an article confirming your suspicion that MyCSP are on strike. I'll copy and paste an extract from the article. I doubt that I will get any answers to my issues before CAPITA take over at the year's end.  However there was another article saying the end was near. Same as many other current conflicts.

 

Extract here ..........

Yes, the MyCSP staff in the UK, who are PCS union members, are currently on strike. The strike, which began in early July, is over MyCSP's refusal to recognize the union and engage in formal consultation during the transfer of the Civil Service Pension Scheme contract to Capita. The initial six-week strike has been extended for another six weeks. 

 

H

 

+ this from the horse's mouth (i.e. the PCS Union):

 

https://www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/news/super-picket-social-marks-mid-way-point-mycsp-strike

 

Great to hear (but probably not in your case) that the Liverpool strikers are having such a jolly time in the Lion Tavern, say I sarcastically: 😠

 

The fun and laughter continued after the picket in Liverpool at the Lion Tavern where Dave the landlord had offered the pub to the strikers to hold a social event. Colleagues had donated prizes for a raffle and other games, and rep Gary took on an additional role as game show host for spot the ball and play your cards right.

 

Everyone who joined the picket and decamped to the Lion Tavern enjoyed themselves and hope that more social events can be organised to boost morale over the coming weeks.

 

13 minutes ago, OJAS said:

 

+ this from the horse's mouth (i.e. the PCS Union):

 

https://www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/news/super-picket-social-marks-mid-way-point-mycsp-strike

 

Great to hear (but probably not in your case) that the Liverpool strikers are having such a jolly time in the Lion Tavern, say I sarcastically: 😠

 

The fun and laughter continued after the picket in Liverpool at the Lion Tavern where Dave the landlord had offered the pub to the strikers to hold a social event. Colleagues had donated prizes for a raffle and other games, and rep Gary took on an additional role as game show host for spot the ball and play your cards right.

 

Everyone who joined the picket and decamped to the Lion Tavern enjoyed themselves and hope that more social events can be organised to boost morale over the coming weeks.

 

Yes, their spokesperson made me cringe. He is telling prospective supporters to use email. I thought the electronic mail concept was to expedite communications between people. Prior to their recent refusal to work, MyCSP were always reluctant to answer emails. And his quote ''the sun has shone on the righteous'' should be amended ever so slightly by inserting ''self'' in the appropriate place.

Presumably the MyCSP staff believe their jobs to be safe and their employment contracts will transfer to Capita. If they're on strike I wonder whether Capita will feel obliged to take them on.

It was quite amusing when the Home Office changed the Immmigration Detention and Escorting contracts From Group4 to Wackemhut or somebody else but it was always the same staff who turned up in a different uniform.

Whoever they work for, I guarantee their work protocols, efficiencies etc won't change or improve one iota.