A survey of civil servants shows widespread support for going mutual, but concern that moving into the private sector could lead to loss of benefits.

Research by the Equiniti Group and MyCSP, the first Government mutual joint venture for pension administration, shows that 84 per cent of civil servants are in favour of a mutual business model to manage their pensions. But 80 per cent are concerned about changes to employment benefits.

MyCSP was launched in April 2012 by Francis Maude, Minister of the Cabinet Office. It is the first central government mutual joint venture. The model gives employees a 25 per cent ownership stake, representation at board level and a share in profits. Equiniti Group’s Paymaster business was selected as the private sector partner and has a 40 per cent stake. The Government retains a 35 per cent stake.

The research also revealed that 42 per cent believe that mutual models will be widely adopted and 44 per cent see no challenges working in a private sector environment.

Andrew Cleminson, Group Sales Director, Equiniti, said: “Across the board the pensions industry faces unprecedented challenges requiring a new approach. We are delighted that the mutual joint venture has such a high level of support from civil servants. The contribution from employees as joint owners is invaluable and we are committed to working in collaboration with all our partners to ensure the successful development of MyCSP, which further extends Equiniti Group’s expertise into the public sector.”