Capita, who provide our pension payroll services, have experienced a cyber incident at the end of March. We have been in regular contact with Capita since the incident to ensure that all necessary and appropriate actions are being taken to minimise the risk to our members. Capita have now completed their forensic investigations and they have confirmed we are one of many Capita clients who have been affected by this security breach. They have confirmed that data relating to our pensioner members has been accessed.
We are writing to the affected members to warn them about the potential risks and to provide guidance on any actions that need to be taken. The Trustee takes the security of member data very seriously and is working closely with Capita to obtain assurances that there are systems and processes in place to minimise the ongoing risk to members.
We appreciate that this news is most concerning, and we are very sorry that this has happened. Most importantly, we want to reassure you that your benefits in the Plan are safe and unaffected by the incident.
Be Smart Be safe
Please be assured that we have robust security measures in place to prevent unauthorised changes being made to your account. Please contact our helpline urgently if you are notified of any changes that you have not made.
If you receive any emails about your pension, make sure it has been sent from either a Pearson address (@pearson.com) or a Capita address (@capita.com or @capita.co.uk).
For more tips and hints go to www.pearson-pensions.com/pension-scams/ or www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart.
If you receive a call out of the blue about your pension do not be afraid to hang up and never give any personal details.
If you are in any doubt – call the pensions helpline on 0800 781 1378 to check.
