Government employees and pensioners have been eagerly waiting for the 8th Pay Commission announcement since the central government appointed the Chairman and members of the commission and released the Terms of Reference in November. The article covers the latest update on the 8th CPC and the expected fitment factor and new pay.
The 7th Pay Commission will conclude on 31 December 2025, after 10 years of tenure, and people are now waiting for the new commission. The new Commission will increase the salary for over 50 lakh government employees and the pension for 60 lakh pensioners.
The fitment factor plays a key role in determining the increased salary and pension, as it is a multiplier for the salary and pension revision. Based on the updated basic pay, the DA, TA, and HRA will be calculated and affect the government employees and pensioners.
What would be the 8th Pay Commission fitment factor?
Before we move to the speculation of the fitment factor in the 8th Pay Commission, let’s see how the government and commission determine it:
- The fitment factor is determined based on the existing pay scales, inflation data, CPI/ CPI-W trends, market parity adjustments, and other factors.
- There is no fixed formula to determine the fitment factor; each commission uses the previous data and policies to determine it.
- The 7th Pay Commission announced the fitment factor of 2.57, saying it neutralizes the 125% DA and salary hike.
There are no definite factors for determining the fitment factor, but the Commission and panel generally focus on factors like inflation, basic pay, allowances, and others. According to the All India NPS Employees Federation, the fitment factor for the 8th Pay Commission can be 2.13.
However, the fitment factor can rise if the inflation goes higher till the 8th Pay Commission is announced. So, the projected fitment factor for the 8th Pay Commission is between 1.83 and 2.46.
What can be the expected pay rise due to the 8th Pay Commission?
Now, based on the speculated fitment factor and the demand of the employees, the government employees can expect the following hike in their pay:
- Based on the projected fitment factor, the central government employees can expect a hike of 30% – 40% in their pay. For instance, if your basic salary is ₹18,000, you can expect your salary to increase up to ₹32,940 for a 1.83 fitment factor.
- The Dearness allowance will also increase under the revision of the payment structure. The current DA stands at 55%, which could increase your gross pay to ₹35,000 if your basic pay were ₹18,000.
- This means the employees can expect their salary to rise by more than 11,000 with the 8th Pay Commission if the fitment factor is as expected.
What can pensioners expect from the 8th Pay Commission?
Central government employees who are retired can expect the revised payment structure to impact their monthly pension, too. With the fitment factor between 1.83 and 2.46, retirees can expect their minimum pension to increase from ₹9,000 to ₹20,000 – ₹25,000.
The government offers DR (Dearness Relief) to pensioners to survive the rising cost of living. The DR matches the DA, and it is revised two times in a year to ensure the pensioners are receiving enough as per inflation.
The current DR rate is 58%; hence, with the revision of the 8th Pay Commission, the DR will be increased too. The DR is determined based on the pensioner’s basic pension, which will be revised in January and July.
When can you expect the government to announce the 8th Pay Commission?
The terms of Reference were finalized under Justice Ranjana Desai’s panel, and the discussion has begun on the revised payment structure and other factors. The Commission has 18 months to submit the report; the official implementation date has not been made public yet.
Once the report is submitted, the government can take 3 to 6 months to discuss, approve, and notify the Pay Commission recommendations. Hence, the employees and pensioners can expect the 8th Pay Commission to be implemented in early 2028.
The 8th Pay Commission will revise the payment structure for the central government employees and pensioners, ensuring better pay and pension. The revision would depend on the Commission recommendations and, finally, on the government decision to follow through on the Commission recommendations.