Amyas Morse, the Comptroller and Auditor
General (C&AG), has qualified his audit opinion on the 2010-11
Civil Superannuation accounts which report the financial results of
the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) and a number of
other small public sector pension schemes.
The C&AG has qualified his audit opinion
in two respects:
- A qualification relating to the regularity of
benefit payments. The audit sought assurance that benefit payments
made by the PCSPS were in accordance with the Scheme rules, but the
Cabinet Office has not retained or been able to provide the NAO
with sufficient records ahead of the statutory deadline to enable
confirmation that all pensioners or other beneficiaries have
received the correct payments.
- A limitation of scope relating to the truth
and fairness of the valuation of the pension liability. Given the
concern over the records held, the C&AG sought assurance that
the estimated pension liability of £136 billion, based on the
Scheme’s membership records, was reasonable. The evidence presented
to him within the statutory timetable was insufficient to support,
in all material respects, the estimate of the liability.
Most pensions awarded under the PCSPS are
linked to a member’s length of qualifying service and salary. In a
quarter of the cases (by value) tested by the NAO, insufficient
evidence was provided to confirm that the correct payment had been
made.
In future, ensuring the systematic retention
and maintenance of members’ records which need to be held over
several decades should be a priority for the Scheme.
31 January 2012
HC 1013 2010-2012