8th Pay Commission Update: The central government gave its go-ahead to the 8th Pay Commission in January this year, and subsequently deliberations were started with various stakeholders to finalise the Terms of Reference (ToR) and finalising modalities for prospective commission members to start work.

The government, however, has yet to officially announce the appointment of the commission’s chairman and other members. Last month, a circular was issued informing about the government’s proposal to fill various vacancies, around 35 posts, on a deputation basis. Applications were sought from eligible government employees to fill these posts. Since then, there have been various reports in the media speculating on the finalisation of the ToR and the appointments of members.

Will the 8th Pay Commission implementation deadline of January 1, 2026, be met?

The month of May is about to end, and after this, only 7 months are left till it can be implemented on the deadline of 1 January 2026. The tenure of the current 7th Pay Commission is ending on 31 December 2025.

Looking at the progress so far, it is difficult to say that the government will be able to implement the 8th Pay Commission on time. Looking at the process of previous pay commissions, it usually takes 12 to 18 months to implement the recommendations.

Also read: Unified Pension Scheme extended for THESE employees: How to claim UPS benefits, deadline to apply

How will this delay impact govt employees retiring on or after Jan 1, 2026?

In such a situation, the chances of implementation from January 1, 2026, are lower. Now the question arises that if an employee retires on or after 1 January 2026, but the recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission have not been implemented till then — will they get the benefit of it? The answer is yes. All such employees will also get the benefit of pay revision in the form of arrears. This has happened before as well. There was a delay of about a year at the time of the 7th Pay Commission, but all employees and pensioners were given the dues.

What has happened on the 8th Pay Commission so far? Know the full update

The Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the formation of the 8th Pay Commission on 16 January 2025. Its purpose is to re-fix the salary and pension of about 50 lakh central government employees and 65 lakh pensioners.

Also read: 8th Pay Commission: Are terms of reference finally on the way?

By March 2025, the government has sent the Commission’s draft Terms of Reference (ToR) to several key ministries such as Defence, Home and Personnel for review. The Commission was expected to be officially constituted by April 2025.

A senior government official after the Union Budget this year indicated that the financial impact of the Commission’s recommendations will be reflected in the 2026-27 Budget, making it unlikely that implementation by January 2026 will be possible.