8th Pay Commission: How Much Arrears Will Central Govt Employees Get?

8th Pay Commission Update: The 8th pay commission has become effective from January 01, 2026 according to media reports as the terms of the 7th pay commission ended on December 31, 2025, though there’s no official confirmation yet.

“Going by this trend, the effect of the 8th Central Pay Commission recommendations would normally be expected from 01.01.2026,” an old PIB press note said.

The Pay Commission is supposed to submit the report within 18 months following the official notification.

The actual revision in pay will come only after the 8th Pay Commission submits its recommendations and the Union Cabinet approves them, which is expected after May 2027.

Employees and pensioners don’t need to get upset about it. The arrears will begin to accumulate

from January 01, 2026 onward. Once the 8th Pay Commission approval, the revised salary will be paid going forward, and employees will also receive the arrears for the period starting January 1, 2026.

These accumulated dues would be paid as a lump sum for the period between the effective date and the actual rollout of the new salaries.

Rohit Jain, Managing Partner at Singhania & Co, told Livemint that employees would be entitled to arrears for the intervening months if the implementation is pushed back, even though the effective date remains unchanged.

Economist Madan Sabnavis said the government usually makes a separate budgetary provision to meet such payouts. He added that the final amount disbursed would depend on the allocation made, and clarified that arrears are calculated on the revised total pay, not just the basic salary.

For instance, if an employee’s monthly salary increases to Rs 50,000 from Rs 45,000 after the revision, the additional Rs 5,000 per month would be counted as arrears. In case of a 15-month delay in implementation, the employee would receive Rs 75,000 as arrears, calculated for the entire period.