These days, the biggest and hot topic among the central employees regarding the 8th Pay Commission is its recommendations and its implementation date. If it takes a long time for the Commission's report to come and the new salary to be implemented, then the employees are fully expected to get huge arrears of the increased basic salary from the previous date. However, the actual amount of this arrears to be received will completely depend on the fitment factor, revised basic pay and the final decision of the government.
When can the 8th Pay Commission report come?
The 8th Pay Commission has been given a total of 18 months to submit its report based on the terms of reference given in November 2025. Accordingly, its deadline falls around May 2027. However, if the Commission wishes, it can also ask for extension of time if necessary. According to media reports, this report is expected to come between March and August 2027. If the new salary is considered effective from January 1, 2026 and it is paid later, then the salary difference of the intervening months will be given as arrears, although this is yet to be finalized by the government.
How much arrears will Level-6 and Level-7 employees get?
According to media reports and estimated calculations, the current minimum basic pay of Level-6 is Rs 35,400. If fitment factor is considered to be 2.15, the revised basic pay could be Rs 76,110. In such a situation, the estimated arrears of 20 months is around Rs 8.14 lakh and that of 24 months is around Rs 9.77 lakh. At the same time, if the fitment factor remains 2.57, then the same estimate can reach around Rs 11.12 lakh for 20 months and around Rs 13.34 lakh for 24 months.
Similarly, the current basic pay for Level-7 has been considered to be Rs 44,900. At a fitment factor of 2.15, the estimated arrears for 24 months are around Rs 12.39 lakh, while at a fitment factor of 2.57, this amount can increase to around Rs 16.92 lakh. It is clear that the higher the fitment factor, the greater will be the difference in basic pay and the possible arrears.
Level-8 employees can have fun, can get around Rs 18 lakh
The current basic pay for Level-8 employees has been considered to be Rs 47,600. If the fitment factor remains at 2.15, the revised basic pay could be Rs 1,02,340, making the estimated arrears of 20 months around Rs 10.95 lakh and of 24 months around Rs 13.14 lakh. Whereas, if the fitment factor is fixed at 2.57, then the revised basic will be around Rs 1,22,332. In this excellent situation, the arrears of 20 months can reach up to Rs 14.95 lakh and the huge arrears of 24 months can reach up to Rs 17.94 lakh.
Will the benefit of arrears be available on every allowance?
It is very important to understand that all this calculation of arrears is mainly based only on the possible increase in basic pay. House Rent Allowance i.e. HRA is directly linked to the basic pay, hence changes in it are also certain when the new basic salary is implemented. On the contrary, Dearness Allowance i.e. DA is reviewed twice a year and Transport Allowance is also linked to DA, hence it is not necessary that arrears be paid in the same manner on each allowance.
Finally, it is also important to note that a huge amount like Rs 17.94 lakh is currently based only on approximate calculations. What will be the final fitment factor of the 8th Pay Commission, how much will the revised salary increase and how will the arrears be paid, the real picture of all these things will be clear only after the final notification is issued by the government.