The 2027 federal pay plan: what is proposed and what remains unsettled

What the August plan says

On August 26, 2026, the President sent Congress an alternative pay plan for January 2027. For General Schedule and certain other covered civilian systems, it sets the planned across-the-board base adjustment at zero and says locality rates will stay at 2026 levels. It is an alternative plan under 5 U.S.C. §5303(b) and §5304a; it is not an executive order or a published 2027 salary table.

The letter says that without this alternative plan the statutory formula would produce a 3.1% base increase and an average 20.6% locality increase. Those are counterfactual formula figures in the President’s letter, not raises already payable to employees. Congress can legislate different rates, and the annual pay order and OPM tables still need to be checked.

Law enforcement and uniformed services

The same letter directs OPM to use a separate special-rate authority for a 3.8% law-enforcement compensation increase. OPM’s 2027 FAQ says it will consult agencies on covered occupations, publish tables later, and tentatively target January 10, 2027. Statutory salary caps can reduce or eliminate an individual increase. Neither the covered job list nor an individual employee’s resulting rate follows automatically from the letter.

Under a different statute, the letter specifies proposed military monthly basic-pay increases of 7% for E1–E5, 6% for E6–O3 and 5% for O4 and above, subject to 37 U.S.C. 203 caps, effective January 1, 2027. It also states 3.6% for uniformed-service members outside the Armed Forces. These are distinct pay systems; they should not be applied to ordinary civilian GS pay.

What still needs to happen

As checked October 3, 2026, this archive has no final 2027 annual pay executive order. Congress may set pay terms in law, the President typically issues an annual order setting the schedules, and OPM publishes civilian salary and special-rate tables. The OPM salary tables and signed order will establish the final published details, dates and applicability. Do not infer a personal 2027 salary from a news headline or from the plan alone.

This is a guide to the public documents, not payroll or benefits advice. An employing agency’s HR or payroll office can address a specific position, grade, location and cap.

How this fits the archive

The annual pay-order hub lists older signed orders with individual guides. The August 26 letter is a presidential communication to Congress and is therefore not counted as an executive order. For prior-year comparisons use the order’s schedules and OPM’s official tables; an average locality adjustment is not every employee’s locality percentage.

What the August alternative plan means

On August 26, 2026, President Trump sent Congress an alternative pay plan under 5 U.S.C. §§ 5303(b) and 5304a. OPM says the plan freezes 2027 General Schedule base rates and locality rates at their 2026 levels for covered employees in the GS and certain other pay systems. It is a decision about the general civilian pay adjustments identified in the law; it is not the same thing as a final 2027 salary table for every federal position.

OPM separately says the President directed use of special salary rate authority for law-enforcement positions, with a stated increase of 3.8 percent. The agency expects to consult affected agencies, determine which occupations are covered, and issue 2027 special-rate tables later in the year. Those special rates apply only to identified groups and may be affected by statutory salary caps. See OPM's 2027 law-enforcement pay guidance for current coverage and table timing.

“Freeze” therefore describes the general base and locality schedule, not every possible rate, step, promotion, or special pay action. An employee's total pay depends on the employee's pay system, grade, step, work location, covered occupation, and legal cap.

Why the plan and the annual order are different

Federal civilian pay laws provide a process for annual adjustments and for the President to submit an alternative plan to Congress. An alternative plan is a formal presidential communication under statute; it is not itself the final executive order or the OPM table. The President's statutory notice states the proposed general adjustment. OPM then prepares rates and publishes the tables and guidance needed to administer them.

The date of the notice matters because pay tables are used prospectively. Until the governing order and OPM tables are published, a worker should not calculate a January 2027 paycheck from a proposed or alternative plan alone. The final legal texts determine effective dates, covered pay systems, exceptions, and caps. If Congress enacts a different rule, the enacted law also matters.

Track the official records in this order: the alternative plan to Congress; any enacted legislation affecting pay; the annual presidential order; and OPM's final schedules. EO Explained distinguishes these documents so a preliminary announcement is not mislabeled as a completed pay action. The archive's annual pay-order guide explains prior years.

Base pay, locality pay, and special rates

The General Schedule has 15 grades and 10 steps per grade. Locality pay adjusts the rate for covered work locations. A pay freeze at the 2026 base and locality levels means those general rates do not receive the planned annual increase in 2027; it does not erase a step increase an employee earns under the applicable rules or a promotion to a higher grade. Each such action has its own eligibility and effective date.

Special salary rates are a separate tool. OPM may establish them for groups or locations with recruitment or retention problems, under title 5 and implementing regulations. OPM explains that special rates can sit above ordinary locality rates and may be limited by statutory caps. The 2027 law-enforcement announcement does not mean every federal employee in law enforcement automatically receives the same amount; coverage will depend on the final occupational and agency tables.

Military compensation is separate. A civilian alternative pay plan does not set uniformed-service basic pay. Military rates depend on separate statutes and later official schedules. Do not apply a civilian percentage to a military paycheck or a military adjustment to a civilian salary.

How to check an individual rate

Identify the employee's legal pay system, grade, step, duty station, special-rate eligibility, and salary cap. Compare the official OPM table for 2026 with the final 2027 table once OPM publishes it, then confirm any personnel action with the employing agency. A locality boundary or special-rate table can change the result even when the general rate is frozen.

As of this guide's research date, OPM says it anticipates releasing the 2027 special-rate schedules later in 2026 and gives a tentative January 10, 2027 effective date for those tables. Those are OPM's stated plans; future published tables and any subsequent legal action control. We will update this page when official schedules or a final annual order add verified details.

This page is a document tracker, not payroll advice. For an individual pay estimate, consult OPM's published schedules and the employee's HR or payroll office.

What “freeze” does not mean

A freeze to the general annual schedule is not a promise that every employee's pay amount will be identical from one year to the next. A step increase within a grade, a promotion, a change in work location, or a covered special salary table can change the applicable rate under separate rules. Each action has eligibility criteria and an effective date, and the final OPM table is the reference for the rate that applies.

Nor does a freeze to civilian base and locality rates automatically set military compensation. The federal uniformed services have distinct pay schedules and statutory authorities. Likewise, the freeze does not itself decide benefit premiums, retirement contribution rates, or the pay of contractors whose compensation is set through separate arrangements.

OPM's 2027 guidance says the planned law-enforcement special rates will be identified after consultation with agencies and that statutory pay caps may limit the full increase in some cases. That leaves important coverage details for later official tables. Until those are published, do not assume that every law-enforcement title, agency, or locality receives one uniform rate.

Use the dated documents to separate what is decided from what is still pending: the August alternative plan states the general adjustment decision; OPM's current announcement describes the separate special-rate path; the annual order and final pay tables will supply operative schedules. The OPM 2027 special-rate page is the current agency source for its timeline and coverage process.