A trade union has hit out at the failure of the Civil Service pension scheme to pay its members.

Retired prison officers, many of whom would have worked at the now closed Dartmoor Prison in Princetown, are being left in a state of financial and emotional distress.

This is because of the failure of private pension administrators, Capita, to make pension payments on time.

Capita, an outsourcing company, took over the running of the Civil Service Pension Scheme in late 2025 and the system has been dogged with problems since.

It is understood the company inherited a backlog of over 90,000 cases from the previous pensions administrators MyCSP/Equiniti.

The Prison Officers' Association (POA) has heard from members who have had to wait for months on their lump sum and initial regular pension payments.

Many of these former officers have no other income and are being forced to take out emergency loans or borrow from family and friends.

The POA has written to the Cabinet Office demanding urgent action including.

These demands include drawing up a timetable for clearing the existing backlog and resuming work on the deferred pension agreements which designed to address sex discrimination (the McCloud Remedy cases).

The POA also seeks an assurance Capita will prioritise work to release all delayed pension and lump sum payments.

And the the introduction of a proactive and fair compensation scheme for members affected by prolonged delays.

The union also demands ‘immediate clarification’ on current and planned resourcing levels needed to carry out the work.

Steve Gillan, POA general secretary said: "This situation is completely unacceptable. We have prison officers who have given a lifetime of service and have paid into their pension scheme in good faith.

“They are now stressed out of their minds and facing real financial hardship all because of the failings of this private company which is more interested in cutting costs and profiteering than providing a quality pensions service.

“We need immediate action to resolve this situation."

Mark Fairhurst, POA chair added:"This is a major scandal but entirely predictable as the previous private contractor couldn't deliver the Civil Service Pension Scheme on time either.

“The Government has to intervene to ensure POA members who have paid into their pension scheme are paid pensions they are owed on time. If Capita are unable to resolve the situation immediately the Government must take action to prevent those waiting on their pension getting into debt or becoming destitute."

Capita said it had been left with a much bigger backlog of cases than originally agreed and apologised to those affected.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said it remained “committed to working with Capita to ensure the scheme's success and to safeguard the interests of all members.

"We are aware of the issues some members have faced and we have instructed Capita to fix them urgently.”