8th Pay Commission: FAQs about the fitment factor, likely salary hikes, payout for arrears and other details

8th Pay Commission: Terms of Reference (ToR) for the 8th Pay Commission were issued in November last year and have since generated much speculation over implementation of salary hikes, arrears, amendments and proposed changes to pension structures. Meanwhile, the Commission has a total of 18 months to submit its recommendations.

Amid this, we take a look at some of the more important frequently asked questions (FAQs) over the 8th Pay Commission. The official 8th Pay Commission's website — https://8cpc.gov.in/ is the original source of information.

What is the 8th Pay Commission?

A government panel established every 10 years to revise pay, allowances and pensions of central government employees and retired former servicemen, the 8th Pay Commission is also responsible for wider implications of these revisions on contributions, retirement benefits and government spending.

It is chaired by Former Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Prakash
Desai, with Professor Pulak Ghosh, tenured Professor of Finance, Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, as a Member of the Commission and Pankaj Jain, former IAS, as Member-Secretary.

How does the Commission function?

The Commission collects views and inputs from ministries, employee unions, pensioners and other similar stakeholders. Once these inputs are collected, the Commission analyses and studies salary structures, pension formulas and allowance patterns before giving its final recommendations.

In March and April 2026, the Commission opened formal memorandum submissions and scheduled stakeholder consultations, including a Dehradun meeting on 24 April 2026.

When will the 8th Pay Commission be implemented?

It was notified on 17 January 2025 and scheduled to come into force by 1 January 2026. However, when we use the previous pay commission timelines as reference, the process is a lengthy one.

The 7th Pay Commission took 2.5 years from formation to rollout, and the 6th Pay Commission took 2 years; while the 5th Pay Commission took 3.5 years.

What is fitment factor?

Fitment factor is the multiplier that converts old basic pay into revised basic pay. A higher factor in this case means a sharper jump in salaries and pensions. This also influences the provident fund contributions, gratuity-linked calculations and other retirement flows tied to basic pay.

For example, if the fitment factor ranges from 2.60 to 2.85, salaries might jump by 24-30%. This further means that a current basic pay in the range of ₹20,000 to 22,000 may rise to approximately ₹46,600 to ₹57,000.

For the 8th Pay Commission, employee bodies have recommended a fitment factor of 3.0 to 3.25, in line with the rising inflation and recent economic developments, which could significantly influence the revised pay structure.

How much arrears can employees get?

Historically, arrears are backdated to the end of the previous commission and have varied significantly depending on timeline and implementations.

• According to an Economic Times report, in the 5th Pay Commission, minimum basic pay holders received around ₹11,200 as arrears for 21 months.
• In the 6th Pay Commission, minimum basic pay holders received around ₹71,000 as arrears for 32 months — among the largest such payouts.
• Further, the latest 7th Pay Commission, minimum basic pay holders received around ₹13,500 as arrears for six months.

How much salary hike can employees expect under 8th Pay Commission?

Nearly 50 lakh central government employees, including defence personnel, and almost 65 lakh retired central government pensioners, including defence retirees, could see basic salary rise to ₹51,480 from ₹18,000.

Notably, there are 18 levels of employees and the individual hikes will depend on the level of the employee or pensioner as basic pay of these employees differs from level to level. These are: Level 1: Entry-level / Group D employees; Levels 2–9: Group C employees; Levels 10–12: Group B employees; and Levels 13–18: Group A employees.

If the fitment factor is 2.57, the salary hike will be as follows:

Level 1 — ₹46,260

Level 5 — ₹75,044

Level 10 — ₹1,44,177

Level 15 — ₹4,68,254

Level 18 — ₹6,42,500

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