Which federal pay systems (GS, FWS, SES, Wage Grade, uniformed services) received increases for 2026 and how do they differ?

1. How the General Schedule (GS) was changed for 2026: a modest base increase, locality frozen

The Administration’s alternative pay plan invoked authority under Title 5 and announced a 1.0% increase to GS basic pay effective January 11, 2026, while freezing locality pay at 2025 levels—meaning every GS worker’s base salary rose by about 1% but their locality‑adjusted pay did not receive the usual regional bump for 2026 ^{[1] [2] [7]}.

2. Special rates and law enforcement: selective larger increases

OPM and the Administration carved out exceptions for certain law‑enforcement and other high‑need roles: selected federal law enforcement officers were slated to receive additional special‑rate adjustments so that eligible LEOs would see a total base‑pay increase of about 3.8% (the 1.0% base plus an extra ~2.8% special rate), with agencies and OPM determining exact eligibility and coverage ^{[3] [7] [1]}.

3. Federal Wage System (FWS) and Wage Grade workers: reporting shows tables expected but no definitive raise published

Public trackers and FWS tables were updated in expectation of 2026 rates, but the reporting collected here does not show a clear, final action analogous to the GS 1.0% announcement for FWS/wage‑grade employees; FederalPay and OPM pages indicate 2026 FWS tables would be published and that OPM provides pay program leadership, but definitive FWS adjustment decisions are not specified in these sources ^{[4] [5]}.

4. Senior Executive Service (SES) and other white‑collar exceptions: ambiguity in sources

Some outlets reporting on budget proposals noted that the White House’s FY2026 budget initially proposed no across‑the‑board civilian pay increase and explicitly mentioned freezes affecting GS and SES pay in that budget request, but the alternative plan superseded parts of that proposal for GS base pay; the sources do not provide a definitive OPM/SES final decision in the same detail as GS and LEO special rates ^{[6] [2]}.

5. Uniformed services (military): tied to separate statutory processes and referenced as a benchmark

Uniformed services pay is governed by military pay law and separate statutes; in the 2026 discussions referenced, civilian LEO special rates were calibrated to match military pay increases in part, but the material here does not publish the 2026 uniformed‑services raise itself—merely that LEO increases were aligned with military pay aims in the Administration’s rationale ^{[8] [3]}.

6. What differs across the systems: scope, mechanism, and statutory authority

The differences are structural and administrative: GS received a uniform 1.0% base increase under an executive alternative pay plan while locality pay was frozen—affecting most white‑collar civilians ^{[1] [2]}; law‑enforcement and certain critical occupations received special‑rate exceptions to boost recruitment/retention, implemented as higher base adjustments for eligible employees ^{[3] [7]}; FWS/wage‑grade and SES treatment is either governed by separate comparability rules or left ambiguous in the available reporting and awaits OPM’s formal tables or agency notices ^{[4] [5] [6]}.

Conclusion: what can be stated with confidence and what remains unclear

It is clear from OPM‑linked and industry reporting that the Administration implemented a 1.0% GS base increase for 2026 with locality frozen and approved larger special‑rate increases for selected law‑enforcement personnel ^{[1] [3] [2]}. The precise 2026 adjustments for FWS/wage‑grade workers, SES members, and the statutory military pay raise are not resolved definitively in the provided sources and require OPM/agency tables or statute texts for conclusive figures ^{[4] [5] [6]}.