8th Pay Commission: Central government employees and pensioners are expecting their salary and pension to increase from January 2026, but they may have to wait for another year for this. The recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission are likely to take more time to be implemented. According to media reports, sources say that the tenure of the Pay Commission will officially begin in January 2026, but the revised salary and pension are not expected to be implemented until early 2027.

Employees and pensioners will get 12 months arrears

However, he also said that whenever the new pay scale is implemented, employees and pensioners will be given 12 months' arrears. According to the report, experts say that the 8th Pay Commission can see a significant increase in the basic salary of government employees.

When will the salary and pension increase?

According to a government source aware of the development of the new pay panel, the new pay commission can finalize its recommendations within 15 to 18 months of its formation. Another source said that the commission can also give an interim report before presenting its final recommendations, but the full report will come only by the end of 2026. Given the process of previous pay commissions, even after the final report is presented, the government will need additional time for review and implementation. This means that the increase in salary and pension is difficult to implement before the beginning of 2027.

When will the government approve the Terms of Reference (ToR)?

According to reports, the Union Cabinet may approve the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 8th Pay Commission this month. The government is in the final process of forming the commission and the official notification will be issued as soon as the approval is received from the Cabinet. That is, the commission will be able to start its work from April 2025. The government had announced the formation of the 8th Pay Commission on 16 January 2025. Since then, there have been many developments regarding the Terms of Reference (TOR) and the process of the commission. Let us know what has happened so far and what will happen next.

The government was recently questioned in Parliament about the status of the ToR (Terms of Reference) of the 8th Pay Commission and the appointment of panel members. In response, the government said that the decision on the notification, chairman, members, and time frame of the new pay commission will be taken at an "appropriate time".

Appointment of the chairman and members of the commission is yet to be done.

The Union Cabinet has approved the 8th Pay Commission to increase the salary of central government employees (8th Pay Commission Salary Hike) and pension of pensioners. However, a decision is yet to be taken on the appointment of the chairman and members of the commission.

So far, the employee side of the National Council of Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM) has sent its recommendations for the ToR.

The employee side has demanded major changes in the salary structure, allowances, and benefits given to government employees and pensioners in its TOR.
One important recommendation among these is related to the merger of some pay scales so that the salary system can be simplified and problems related to career growth can be resolved.
The government has also sought suggestions from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on this matter.

Consultation process with stakeholders

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had sought suggestions from the employee side of the National Council to finalize the terms of the 8th Pay Commission. Now it remains to be seen to what extent the government implements these recommendations and how much attention it pays to the demands of the employees.

40-50 percent increase in the basic salary of employees?

Let us tell you that the increase in the salary and pension of Central Government Employees and pensioners is done based on fitment factor (8th Pay Commission Fitment Factor). Experts believe that the 8th Pay Commission may recommend a fitment factor between 2.28 to 2.86, which may increase the basic salary of employees by 40-50 per cent.

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