Last Updated: September 30, 2026 Reading Time: 6 min

The President's August 26, 2026 alternative pay plan, House Document 119-189, freezes civilian base and locality pay at 2026 rates while setting military raises of 7.0% for E1 to E5, 6.0% for E6 to O3, and 5.0% for O4 and above. That is the widest civilian-vs-military pay raise gap in the modern General Schedule era, and for anyone near retirement it is more than an insult: a frozen year in your High-3 window permanently lowers your FERS pension. Here is the data, and the dollar cost.

Confirmed Rates as of September 2026

The numbers are settled at the executive level, and they are all in one document.

Group 2027 adjustment Authority Source
Civilian GS base pay 0% 5 U.S.C. 5303(b) House Document 119-189, paragraph 2
Civilian locality pay 0% 5 U.S.C. 5304a Same letter
Federal law enforcement on special rate tables 3.8% as special salary rates, capped at Executive Schedule level IV ($197,200) 5 U.S.C. 5305; 5 CFR part 530 subpart C Same letter, paragraph 6; OPM 2027 special-rates page
Armed Forces E1 to E5 / E6 to O3 / O4 and above 7.0% / 6.0% / 5.0% 37 U.S.C. 1009(e) Same letter, paragraph 7
Uniformed members outside the Armed Forces (PHS, NOAA corps) 3.6% 37 U.S.C. 1009(c) Same letter, paragraph 8

The civilian freeze takes effect automatically under 5 U.S.C. 5303(b)(1)(B) unless Congress enacts a different percentage; the stopgap that funds the government expires December 11, 2026, and the bill that replaces it is the last scheduled vehicle before the December pay order. Our FAIR Act and December 11 post covers the override mechanics. The military figures can still change by statute if the FY2027 NDAA sets a different number.

Civilian vs Military Raises, 2010 to 2027

No other federal publication has put these two tracks side by side this far back. Here is every year, with the gap.

Year Civilian GS (base) Military Gap (Mil − Civ)
2010 1.5% 3.4% +1.9
2011 0% 1.4% +1.4
2012 0% 1.6% +1.6
2013 0% 1.7% +1.7
2014 1.0% 1.0% 0.0
2017 1.0% 2.1% +1.1
2019 1.4% 2.6% +1.2
2021 1.0% 3.0% +2.0
2023 4.1% 4.6% +0.5
2024 4.7% 5.2% +0.5
2025 1.7% 4.5% +2.8
2026 1.0% 3.8% +2.8
2027 (transmitted plan) 0% 7.0% / 6.0% / 5.0% by grade band +5.0 to +7.0

Sources: generalschedule.org (GS base), DFAS/military pay archives, Federal News Network (2025-2026 figures), House Document 119-189 (2027). The 2024 near-parity year shows the widening gap is a recent trend, not a permanent rule.

The Obama-era freeze (2011-2013) paired a 0% civilian rate with modest 1.4 to 1.7% military raises. The 2027 plan pairs 0% with military raises of 5.0% to 7.0%, which is why the spread dwarfs anything previously enacted. For how those same civilian raises stack up against inflation rather than military pay, see GS pay vs. inflation, 2020 to 2027.

The Three-Year Squeeze

The single-year gap understates the damage because the raises compound. Stack the recent civilian rates against the military rates over three years:

Metric Civilian (2025-2027) Military (2025-2027)
Year-by-year 1.7% / 1.0% / 0% 4.5% / 3.8% / 5.0% (the O4-and-above tier; junior grades get more)
Cumulative compound growth 2.7% 13.9%
$100K salary becomes $102,717 $113,895

A civilian earning $100,000 in 2024 ends 2027 making about $11,178 less per year than a military peer who started at the same pay, purely from diverging raise rates, and that uses the lowest 2027 military tier. At a GS-13 DC salary the annual shortfall runs closer to $14,000. (FedTools computation: 1.017 × 1.010 × 1.000 = 1.02717 civilian; 1.045 × 1.038 × 1.050 = 1.1389455 military; rounded once at output.)

What the Freeze Does to Your Pension

This is the part that outlasts the paycheck. Your FERS pension uses your High-3, the highest average basic pay over any 36 consecutive months, almost always your final three years. A frozen year inside that window drags the average down, and the lower base is locked in for the rest of your life.

For an employee whose final three years are 2025, 2026, and 2027, compare the enacted civilian raises against a world where those years had matched military raises:

Grade (DC) High-3 deficit Annual FERS loss (30 yrs service) 20-year lifetime loss
GS-12 (~$105K) -$6,906 -$2,072/yr -$41,436
GS-13 (~$125K) -$8,221 -$2,466/yr -$49,329
GS-15 (~$172K) -$11,313 -$3,394/yr -$67,877

FedTools calculation, revised September 30, 2026. The listed salary is treated as 2024 basic pay; each column compounds it through the three raises and averages the three years (civilian-transmitted 1.7% / 1.0% / 0%; military-matched 4.5% / 3.8% / 5.0%, the lowest 2027 Armed Forces tier). High-3 deficit = salary × (1.08955 − 1.02378); annual FERS loss = deficit × 1.0% × 30 years; lifetime = 20 years, no COLA. Rounded once at output. An earlier version of this table used a 1.0% civilian rate and a 3.6% military rate for 2027; both are replaced by the August 26 letter's figures.

If you are more than three years from retirement, the frozen year falls outside your eventual High-3 window, so you take the career-earnings hit but not the direct pension hit. If you are inside that window, the freeze follows you into retirement.

Run Your Own Numbers

The averages above are useful, but your situation is specific. Start with the High-3 Calculator to see how a flat year changes your average salary, then look up your current pay with the GS Pay Calculator and model the final annuity in the FERS Retirement Calculator. For the GS-grade dollar impact of the freeze on your take-home pay, see our companion post on the 2027 pay freeze by GS grade.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the military get a bigger pay raise than civilian federal employees in 2027?

Military and civilian raises run through separate legal tracks, but for 2027 they were set in the same document. The President's August 26 letter uses 5 U.S.C. 5303(b) and 5304a to freeze civilian base and locality pay, and 37 U.S.C. 1009(e) to set Armed Forces raises of 7.0%, 6.0%, and 5.0% by grade band. Congress can still change the military figure through the annual NDAA, which it passes with strong bipartisan support; changing the civilian figure requires enacted legislation, either a standalone pay law or a percentage written into a funding law.

Is the 2027 civilian-vs-military pay gap the largest ever?

Based on verified 2010-2026 data, yes. The August 26 letter sets 0% for civilians against 7.0%, 6.0%, and 5.0% for the military by grade band, so the gap is 5.0 to 7.0 points depending on rank. The prior record was 2.8 percentage points in both 2025 and 2026. The military figure could still move if the FY2027 NDAA sets a different number by statute.

What happens to my FERS pension if a frozen pay year falls in my High-3 window?

The frozen year pulls down your High-3 average because it is one of the three years averaged. Two different questions produce two different numbers. Against a modest 1% raise, one frozen year costs an employee earning $100,000 to $124,000 with 30 years of service roughly $100 to $124 of annual pension for life (one third of the foregone 1%, times the 1% FERS multiplier, times 30 years). Against military-matched raises across all three High-3 years, the table above shows $2,466 a year for a GS-13 in the DC area. The first number is the cost of 2027 alone; the second is the cost of the whole 2025 to 2027 divergence.

Is the 2027 civilian freeze final?

It is now the official plan. The August 26, 2026 alternative pay plan letter holds civilian base and locality pay at 2026 rates, with a 3.8% raise only for federal law enforcement. The historical pattern of a surprise ~1% December raise did not repeat. Congress could still override through appropriations, and the December executive order sets final rates.

Does the military pay raise help feds who bought back military service?

No. The NDAA raise applies to active-duty military pay only. Federal civilians who bought back military time toward FERS still have their pension based on their civilian GS salary, so the civilian raise (or freeze) is what governs their High-3.