Which federal employee groups (SES, uniformed services, postal) get different pay adjustments in 2026?
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Executive summary
The landscape for 2026 shows different federal employee groups on separate tracks: most civilian GS/SES workers face either a small (proposed 1%) or no across‑the‑board base pay change depending on the administration’s plan and congressional action [1] [2] [3], uniformed servicemembers are slated for a 3.8% across‑the‑board raise under the NDAA process [4] [5], and postal employees get pay increases and COLAs through negotiated union contracts that produce different timing and percent changes than federal civilian pay (e.g., multi‑step wage installments and COLAs effective in specific pay periods in 2026) [6] [7] [8].
1. Civilian federal workforce: conflicting signals on the “general” raise
The White House budget and alternative presidential plans have been presented as proposing either no general pay raise or modest raises for civilian federal employees in 2026: some reporting cites a proposed 0% freeze for many federal civilian employees in the FY2026 budget request [3] [9], while other administration materials and press coverage describe a 1% base increase with additional targeted increases for certain law‑enforcement roles (totaling ~3.8% for those groups) or a 1.3% general increase in some statements [1] [10] [2]. These contradictory headlines reflect two competing plans — the President’s alternative pay plan and other statutory recommendation processes — and show the final civilian outcome depends on executive decisions and potential Congressional intervention [10] [11].
2. Senior Executive Service (SES): treated within civilian pay machinery, not a separate automatic uplift
SES pay adjustments are governed by the same executive pay‑setting instruments and executive orders that apply to General Schedule and certain other civilian pay systems; public materials list SES in OPM schedules and executive orders that adjust rates [12]. Available sources do not provide a distinct negotiated 2026 percentage specifically for SES separate from the broader civilian proposals, so whether SES receives the 0%, 1%, or another adjustment mirrors the final civilian decision [12] [3]. Available sources do not mention a unique SES‑only increase beyond those documents [12].
3. Uniformed services: a clear 3.8% package in play
Both the House and Senate committee action and multiple defense‑focused outlets report a broadly supported 3.8% base‑pay increase for uniformed members for 2026, tied to statutory ECI calculations and embedded in NDAA text moving toward final passage [4] [13] [5]. Most reporting treats this as a discrete, across‑the‑board military raise that is separate from civilian pay decisions; some proposals also include other targeted allowances or benefits changes, but the core 3.8% lift for basic pay is the consistent headline [14] [15].
4. Postal Service: bargained raises, step changes and COLAs that don’t follow GS timing
USPS pay is driven mainly by collective bargaining and separate internal decisions; recent national agreements and tentative deals provide annual wage steps (for example 1.3% in years of the agreement and retroactive components) plus periodic COLAs that activate based on contract indices, with implementation dates tied to pay periods in 2026 [6] [8] [16]. The largest letter‑carriers’ agreements and APWU summaries show multi‑year wage schedules and multiple COLA calculations that will produce effective increases in specific pay periods (PP03‑2026, PP07‑2026, etc.), which means postal employees can see different percentages and timing than civilian GS workers [6] [7] [8].
5. Special‑rate and law‑enforcement exceptions complicate “one number” narratives
Several sources stress that particular law‑enforcement personnel in the federal civil service and certain special‑rate employees may receive additional, separate adjustments (e.g., an added 2.8% for law enforcement bringing some totals toward 3.8%), and OPM/Pay Agent authorities can implement special salary‑rate changes outside the simple GS across‑the‑board percent [1] [10]. That means even within civilian ranks, outcomes vary by occupation and locality decisions — and the administration’s plan to freeze locality in some documents would further change effective increases for many [17] [10].
6. Why numbers differ across outlets — and what to watch next
Disagreement in reporting flows from multiple, overlapping authorities: Presidential budget messages and “alternative” pay plans, OPM/Federal Salary Council recommendations, Congress’s NDAA and appropriations actions, and separate collective‑bargaining outcomes for USPS [10] [11] [5] [6]. The decisive steps to watch are: final executive orders or OPM pay schedules that accompany the President’s decision [12]; whether Congress enacts different civilian pay via appropriations or legislation; the NDAA’s final language and enactment for military pay [5]; and union ratifications and implementation schedules at USPS [7] [8].
Limitations: reporting in these sources spans press summaries, union releases, OPM documents and advocacy sites; they sometimes state proposals rather than enacted law and therefore describe likely outcomes rather than guaranteed final paychecks [3] [11] [6] [4]. Where a source does not state a fact (for example a unique SES‑only percentage outside broader civilian plans), I note that it is not found in current reporting [12].