8th Pay Commission: What actually happened in 2025 and what 2026 holds for employees, pensioners

As the year 2025 comes to an end, there are a lot of speculations on the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) circulating on social media. Some claims are being made that the new pay panel will be implemented from January 1, 2026. However, this is not completely true.

In this article, we explain what actually happened in 2025 with respect to the 8th Pay Commission and what 2026 holds for central government employees and pensioners.

What happened in 2025?

In 2025, the Government took three key steps with respect to the 8th Pay Commission:

• Announced the decision to appoint the 8th Pay Commission to review the salary, pension, and other perks provided to eligible central government employees and pensioners.

• Constituted the 8th CPC and also nominated its chairperson and members.

• Notified the Terms of Reference of the 8th Pay Commission.

In the lead-up to the notification of the Terms of Reference, the government also held consultations with various departments and staff bodies, including the NC-JCM Staff Side. The latter submitted several suggestions for the TOR, both before and after the notification.

What 2026 holds for employees and pensioners?

The tenure of the 7th Pay Commission is going to end after 10 years on December 31, 2025. However, the Government has not yet confirmed whether the 8th Pay Commission will be implemented from January 1, 2026.

The above means that employees and pensioners will not get a revised salary and pension, respectively, immediately after the start of the New Year on January 1, 2026.

However, employees and pensioners can expect arrears with effect from January 1, 2026, whenever the pay commission's recommendations are implemented. This is because of two reasons:

• First, the 8th CPC should ideally be implemented with effect from January 1, 2026, as the tenure of the 7th CPC ends on December 31, 2025

• Second, the government generally provides arrears whenever any pay-related announcements are made after their effective dates.

However, any final decision with regard to the implementation of the 8th CPC and payment of arrears is in the hands of the government.

Will the 8th Pay Commission submit its report or recommendations in 2026?

There is a very small chance of the 8th CPC submitting its recommendations in 2026. This is because the 8th CPC was constituted recently, and the government has given it up to 18 months to submit recommendations. If the commission finishes its work within this timeframe, then the employees and pensioners may see the recommendations in 2027. Those recommendations will be implemented only after they are approved by the government.

However, in the lead-up to the 8th CPC implementation, employees and pensioners may expect dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) hikes as per the 7th CPC norms.