8th Pay Commission: 300% Salary Hike? Fitment Factor 3.83 vs 4 Impact On Level 1–18 Employees & Pensioners

The implementation of the 8th Pay Commission is much-awaited for more than 1 crore central government employees and pensioners. The final report of 8th CPC is expected to be submitted in May 2027, while the implementation could likely be in either 2028 or 2029. January 1, 2026, is hoped to be the effective date from which 8th CPC benefits will be calculated for employees, pensioners and retirees. The major component for the 8th CPC is the fitment factor, which will be crucial in determining the basic pay and pensions.

What Is 8th Pay Commission?

The Central Pay Commissions are periodically constituted to go into various issues of emoluments structure, retirement benefits and other service conditions of Central Government employees and to make recommendations on the changes required thereon. Usually, the recommendations of the pay commissions are implemented after a gap of every ten years, as per the PMO explainer.

With that, the 8th Pay Commission is expected to take effect from January 1, 2026, as the previous 7th Pay Commission ended on December 31, 2025, after a period of ten years. The formation of 8th CPC was declared in January last year, and a temporary body was formed in November to review, assess and evaluate recommendations from employee unions, representatives and other bodies.

The 8th CPC committee, which comprises a chairperson, one part-time member and one member-secretary, has conducted several meetings to meet representatives to understand the recommendations for the 8th CPC. In November 2025, the committee has been given 18 months' time to draft the final report for the 8th CPC, which is likely to be in May 2027.

The committee's responsibility is to draft the final report after due consideration of --- economic conditions of the country; fiscal prudence; development expenditure and welfare measures; the unfunded cost of non-contributory pension schemes; the impact of the recommendations on state government finances; and the prevailing emolument structure, benefits and working conditions available to employees.

In simple words, the 8th Pay Commission is expected to improve the cost of living for both central government employees and pensioners.

What Are Fitment Factor?

The fitment factor is the most important recommendation, as it will play the biggest role in determining the new basic pay and pensions under 8th CPC. The fitment is a multiplier used to calculate revised basic salaries and, potentially, pensions when a new Pay Commission revises the pay structure of government employees.

8th Pay Commission Fitment Factor

Several employee representatives have made numerous recommendations for fitment factors. The highest are 4 and 3.83.

IRTSA has recommended fitment factors in the range of 2.92, 3.50, and 3.80. The conservative recommendation is 1.92 fitment factor. The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) has recommended 3 fitment factors, while the Jammu & Kashmir Employee Forum recommends a 3.05 fitment factor. The Federation of National Postal Organisations (FNPO) believes the fitment factor should be hiked to 3.25.

Moreover, the Jammu and Kashmir Employees Coordination Committee suggested a fitment factor in the range of 2.86 to 3.68. While the NC-JCM and IRTSA believe the fitment factor should be around 3.83. The highest fitment factor for 8th CPC is once again suggested by BPMS to 4.

8th Pay Commission Salary Hike

The formula for the calculated salary hike under 8th CPC is:

{Estimated revised basic pay} = Current basic pay X Fitment factor

Currently, the basic pay for Level 1 employees is Rs 18,000 under the 7th CPC. While the level 5 employees get Rs 29,200 basic pay, and level 10 employees get Rs 56,100 basic pay. The higher the grade of the employee, the higher the basic pay. The highest minimum pay goes to Rs 2.50 lakh per month for level 18 grade employees.

These minimum pays will be revised once 8th CPC is implemented. If the 4 fitment factors are implemented, the salary will be hiked by a whopping 300%.

Let's apply the formula to calculate estimated revised basic pay under 8th CPC:

Fitment Factor 4:

Level 1: Current Basic Pay (Rs 18,000) X Fitment Factor 4 = Rs 72,000 estimated salary hike.

Level 5: Rs 29,200 x 4 = Rs 1,16,800

Level 10: Rs 56,100 x 4 = Rs 2,24,400

Level 18: Rs 2,50,000 x 4 = Rs 9,50,000

Fitment Factor 3.83:

At this fitment factor, the salary could rise by 283.33% across grades/

Level 1: Rs 18,000 x 3.833 = Rs 68,994

Level 5: Rs 29,200 x 3.833 = Rs 1,11,924

Level 10: Rs 56,100 x 3.833 = Rs 2,15,031

Level 18: Rs 2,50,000 x 3.833 = Rs 9,50,000.

Pay level	Current basic	Factor 4.00	Factor 3.833	Factor 3.80
1	₹18,000	₹72,000	₹68,994	₹68,400
2	₹19,900	₹79,600	₹76,277	₹75,620
3	₹21,700	₹86,800	₹83,176	₹82,460
4	₹25,500	₹1,02,000	₹97,742	₹96,900
5	₹29,200	₹1,16,800	₹1,11,924	₹1,10,960
6	₹35,400	₹1,41,600	₹1,35,688	₹1,34,520
7	₹44,900	₹1,79,600	₹1,72,102	₹1,70,620
8	₹47,600	₹1,90,400	₹1,82,451	₹1,80,880
9	₹53,100	₹2,12,400	₹2,03,532	₹2,01,780
10	₹56,100	₹2,24,400	₹2,15,031	₹2,13,180
11	₹67,700	₹2,70,800	₹2,59,494	₹2,57,260
12	₹78,800	₹3,15,200	₹3,02,040	₹2,99,440
13	₹1,23,100	₹4,92,400	₹4,71,842	₹4,67,780
13A	₹1,31,100	₹5,24,400	₹5,02,506	₹4,98,180
14	₹1,44,200	₹5,76,800	₹5,52,719	₹5,47,960
15	₹1,82,200	₹7,28,800	₹6,98,373	₹6,92,360
16	₹2,05,400	₹8,21,600	₹7,87,298	₹7,80,520
17	₹2,25,000	₹9,00,000	₹8,62,425	₹8,55,000
18	₹2,50,000	₹10,00,000	₹9,58,250	₹9,50,000

Simply put, at a 4 fitment factor, the salary would increase by Rs 54,000, and at a 3.833 fitment, it could rise by Rs 50,994. Lastly, at 3.80 fitment, the salary could rise by Rs 50,400 for level 1 employees.

8th Pay Commission: Pensions Hike

The formula is the same for calculating pension hikes. At present, under 7th CPC, level 1 pensioners get Rs 9,000 per month, while level 5 pensioners receive Rs 14,600 per month. Level 10 pensioners, or retirees, get about Rs 28,050 per month, and level 18 pensioners get Rs 125,000 per month.

At the 4 fitment factor, the minimum pension for level 1 pensioners will rise to Rs 36,000. At 3.833 fitment, pensions could increase to Rs 34,497 and to Rs 34,200 if 3.80 fitment factor is approved.

Pay level	Assumed current basic pension	Factor 4.00	Factor 3.833	Factor 3.80
Level 1	₹9,000	₹36,000	₹34,497	₹34,200
Level 2	₹9,950	₹39,800	₹38,138	₹37,810
Level 3	₹10,850	₹43,400	₹41,588	₹41,230
Level 4	₹12,750	₹51,000	₹48,833	₹48,450
Level 5	₹14,600	₹58,400	₹55,962	₹55,480
Level 6	₹17,700	₹70,800	₹67,851	₹67,260
Level 7	₹22,450	₹89,800	₹86,032	₹85,310
Level 8	₹23,800	₹95,200	₹91,225	₹90,440
Level 9	₹26,550	₹1,06,200	₹1,01,734	₹1,00,890
Level 10	₹28,050	₹1,12,200	₹1,07,484	₹1,06,590
Level 11	₹33,850	₹1,35,400	₹1,29,712	₹1,28,630
Level 12	₹39,400	₹1,57,600	₹1,50,820	₹1,49,720
Level 13	₹61,550	₹2,46,200	₹2,35,720	₹2,33,890
Level 13A	₹65,550	₹2,62,200	₹2,51,152	₹2,49,090
Level 14	₹72,100	₹2,88,400	₹2,76,239	₹2,73,980
Level 15	₹91,100	₹3,64,400	₹3,49,186	₹3,46,180
Level 16	₹1,02,700	₹4,10,800	₹3,93,646	₹3,90,260
Level 17	₹1,12,500	₹4,50,000	₹4,31,213	₹4,27,500
Level 18	₹1,25,000	₹5,00,000	₹4,79,125	₹4,75,000