8th Pay Commission salary calculator: Up to Rs 14.10 lakh arrears for Level 4-7 employees? Here’s how it could add up

Central government employees are supposed to receive their revised wages and allowances from the new pay commission starting the day after the previous commission ends. But in practice, it can take anywhere from months to years to implement the new pay commission wages,due to the lengthy process that involves discussions with various stakeholders and getting approvals from the highest levels of the government. Despite these delays, central government employees do receive arrears for the months they have to wait.

For example, if the 8th Pay Commission’s report is notified in June 2027, employees will get arrears for 18 delayed months. A notification at a later date will lead to arrears for a longer period. But the question remains: how much in arrears can Level 4-7 employees expect to receive based on different fitment factors?

Arrears that central government employees get in a pay commission


Most central government employees get basic pay, dearness allowance (DA), house rent allowance (HRA) and transport allowance (TPTA) as their salary components. But do they get arrears for all the components?

Also Read: 8th Pay Commission delay: Can Level 3-6 employees lose up to Rs 2.64 lakh in arrears?

Arrears on basic pay in 8th Pay Commission

The fitment factor is applied to the existing basic pay of an employee. As a result, employees get arrears on basic salary in a new pay commission. An 18-month delay means basic salary arrears for 18 months.

Arrears on dearness allowance in 8th Pay Commission

The government announces the DA twice a year based on the consumer price index reading. Since the DA is adjusted as per rising inflation twice a year, the government doesn’t provide any arrears on it.

Arrears on HRA in 8th Pay Commission

The government announces HRA rates in every pay commission. For the 7th Pay Commission, these rates were 8%, 16% and 24% of basic pay for Z, Y and X-category cities, but they increased to 10%, 20 and 30%, respectively, when DA reached 50% in January 2024. HRA is a percentage part of the basic salary and increases automatically when the basic pay in a new pay commission is revised. Past practices suggest that the government doesn’t provide arrears for HRA.

Also Read: 8th Pay Commission calculator: Why central govt pensioners seek 15-year commuted pension rule change

Arrears on transport allowance in 8th Pay Commission

Transport allowance (TPTA) charges are fixed in every pay commission, but they also increase with DA. For example, if an employee has Rs 1,800 as the fixed TPTA, they will get Rs 1,800+ DA (%) of Rs 1,800. Since the TPTA amount increases with every DA hike, the government doesn’t provide arrears on transport allowance.

Hence, basic pay is the component central government employees get arrears for. But how much? Let’s see estimates for Level 4-7 employees at 2.0, 2.15, 2.28 and 2.57 fitment factors, assuming that the 8th Pay Commission will be delayed for 20 months.

Estimated arrears for Level 4-7 employees at 2.0 fitment factor

Level	Current Basic (₹)	Revised Basic (₹)	Increase in Basic (₹)	Arrears for 20 Months (₹)	Increase Multiple
4	25,500	51,000	25,500	5,10,000	20
5	29,100	58,200	29,100	5,82,000	20
6	35,400	70,800	35,400	7,08,000	20
7	44,900	89,800	44,900	8,98,000	20

Estimated arrears for Level 4-7 employees at 2.15 fitment factor

Level	Current Basic (₹)	Revised Basic (₹)	Increase in Basic (₹)	Arrears for 20 Months (₹)	Increase Multiple
4	25,500	54,825	29,325	5,86,500	23
5	29,100	62,565	33,465	6,69,300	23
6	35,400	76,110	40,710	8,14,200	23
7	44,900	96,535	51,635	10,32,700	27

Estimated arrears for Level 4-7 employees at 2.28 fitment factor

Level	Current Basic (₹)	Revised Basic (₹)	Increase in Basic (₹)	Arrears for 20 Months (₹)	Increase Multiple
4	25,500	58,140	32,640	6,52,800	26
5	29,100	66,348	37,248	7,44,960	26
6	35,400	80,712	45,312	9,06,240	26
7	44,900	1,02,372	57,472	11,49,440	30

Estimated arrears for Level 4-7 employees at 2.57 fitment factor

Level	Current Basic (₹)	Revised Basic (₹)	Increase in Basic (₹)	Arrears for 20 Months (₹)	Increase Multiple
4	25,500	65,535	40,035	8,00,700	31
5	29,100	74,787	45,687	9,13,740	31
6	35,400	90,978	55,578	11,11,560	31
7	44,900	1,15,393	70,493	14,09,860	36

However, these are just estimates; the real amount of arrears for Level 4-7 central government employees will be known only after the government notifies the rates.