Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the IOPC administers hardships loans for their retired employees who are currently waiting for their delayed Civil Service Pension to be processed by Capita.

We can confirm that, as of 5 October 2026, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) does offer a hardship loan scheme for recent retirees experiencing hardship due to Capita’s delays.

Eligibility for a hardship loan is restricted to active scheme members who have either retired or partially retired directly from a Civil Service employer since 1 January 2025 and face payment delays. Because these bridging funds are legally classified as employee-employer loans, they cannot be extended to deferred members, surviving spouses, or dependants due to the lack of an active employment link.

Deferred groups and vulnerable dependants are instead directed to Capita for urgent internal prioritisation via Cabinet Office Pensions Recovery Taskforce-monitored workflows. We are working tightly with internal teams to ensure that those who cannot access a loan have their core files fast-tracked through the system via our triage managers.

We have also established dedicated virtual surgeries for MPs and caseworkers to escalate urgent and exceptional cases directly with a Capita caseworker.

Regular updates on the work to recover the service will continue to be posted on the Civil Service Pensions member portal and on GOV.UK.