How can federal employees track official publication of the 2026 pay plan and locality tables?
Executive summary
Federal employees should expect official 2026 pay and locality tables to be published by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and related agencies in late December or by the end of the calendar year; OPM has stated it will release special rate tables by year‑end and earlier reporting shows the White House transmitted an alternative pay plan on Aug. 28, 2025 calling for a 1% base raise and frozen locality rates [1] [2]. For tracking: watch OPM’s pay pages (special rates and GS tables), the White House pay‑plan letter to Congress, and OPM/Federal Pay announcements cited by industry outlets such as FedSmith, FederalNewsNetwork and FederalPay [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. Where the official tables will appear — go straight to OPM and govinfo
The definitive source for official General Schedule (GS) base pay, locality pay, and special‑rate tables is the Office of Personnel Management; OPM’s pay pages and its announced schedule for special rates (anticipating release by year‑end with an effective date in January) are the place federal payroll offices and employees should monitor [1]. For archived legal text and presidential pay letters, govinfo hosts the formal documents that establish effective dates and statutory citations [5].
2. Timing and the calendar: expect late‑December / end‑of‑year publication
Multiple reporting and aggregation sites that follow federal pay state the official tables are typically published in December; OPM’s guidance on special rates explicitly anticipates release “by the end of the calendar year,” with a tentative effective date in January 2026 for some tables [1] [6]. Industry aggregators also note OPM traditionally makes tables available in late December after the administration’s pay decision is settled [4] [6].
3. What to watch for first: the White House pay plan letter and OPM confirmation
Presidents must transmit an alternative pay plan to Congress by Sept. 1 each year; the White House sent a 2026 letter on Aug. 28, 2025 proposing a 1% across‑the‑board base increase and freezing locality pay — that administrative decision is the foundation for the official tables OPM will publish [2]. OPM then implements those decisions into concrete GS base, locality, and special‑rate tables [1] [2].
4. Practical monitoring steps — specific pages, feeds, and outlets
Monitor these items in priority order: OPM’s official pay and special‑rates pages (for final tables and implementation notes) and the White House pay message uploaded to govinfo [1] [5]. Complement official sources with reliable federal‑workforce reporters — FedSmith, FederalNewsNetwork and FederalPay routinely republish OPM tables and explain locality impacts [4] [3] [7].
5. What the early reporting already shows and why it matters
Reporting from multiple outlets documents the administration’s alternative plan: 1% base increase for most civilian GS employees, 3.8% for certain law enforcement officers, and locality pay frozen at 2025 levels; those policy choices materially change how locality tables are applied in January payroll runs and how special rates will be set [2] [3] [8]. OPM’s special‑rate timetable confirms agency consultation is ongoing and that special‑rate tables targeting recruitment/retention problems will follow before payroll effects begin [1].
6. Areas of uncertainty and competing viewpoints
Industry and union sources differ on the politics and adequacy of the plan: unions and some lawmakers push for larger adjustments and have proposed higher pay legislation, while the White House framed the alternative plan as fiscally necessary to avert much larger statutory increases [9] [5] [3]. Available sources do not mention whether Congress will alter the White House plan before OPM publishes final tables; monitoring House/Senate appropriations and union statements is necessary because Congress can influence final pay outcomes [9] [3].
7. How payroll offices should prepare now
Payroll and HR shops should provisionally model pay changes using the White House plan (1% base, frozen locality) and be ready to ingest OPM files in December; OPM’s special rates page signals agencies will receive finalized tables and effective dates in time for January pay periods [1] [8]. Vendors and intranet portals that republish OPM tables typically post machine‑readable files immediately when OPM publishes, so set alerts on OPM and leading federal‑pay aggregators [4] [7].
Limitations: this analysis uses reporting and OPM notices circulated after the Aug. 28, 2025 alternative pay plan; available sources do not mention the final date OPM will publish every locality table nor whether Congress will change the plan before OPM posts official tables [1] [2].