The 2026 pay award is 3.6%, and it is not your pension increase
Armed forces personnel received a 3.6% pay award for 2026, backdated to 1 April 2026, taking average salaries up by around £1,650 to £45,710. Because two different percentages are now circulating, it is worth being blunt about which is which: 3.6% is the pay award for people still serving, and 3.8% is the 2026 pension increase for pensions already in payment. If you have retired, the number that affects you is 3.8%.
Key takeaways
- The 2026 pay award is 3.6%, backdated to 1 April 2026.
- It follows 6% in 2024 and 4.5% in 2025, a cumulative 14.1% since July 2024.
- Average salaries rise by around £1,650 to £45,710. Starting pay is £27,282 for non commissioned ranks and £35,926 for junior officers.
- A pay award raises the pension of people who leave after it takes effect. It does nothing for a pension already in payment.
- Pensions in payment rise by the separate CPI increase, which is 3.8% from April 2026.
- The Armed Forces' Pay Review Body has asked the MOD to clarify which elements of pay are pensionable, which is unresolved.
What was announced
The award is 3.6%, backdated to 1 April 2026, and the government describes it as above inflation. It is the third consecutive above inflation award, following 6% in 2024 and 4.5% in 2025, which together give most personnel a cumulative uplift of 14.1% since July 2024.
| Measure | 2026 figure |
|---|---|
| Headline award | 3.6%, backdated to 1 April 2026 |
| Average salary | Up around £1,650 to £45,710 |
| Starting pay, non commissioned ranks | £27,282 |
| Starting pay, junior officers | £35,926 |
| Cumulative uplift since July 2024 | 14.1% |
The package also includes targeted payments for specialist skills, retention payments for Royal Navy submariners, and enhanced incentives for nursing specialists.
Pay award or pension increase: which one applies to you
This is the distinction that causes the most confusion every spring, so here it is plainly.
| Pay award | Pension increase | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 rate | 3.6% | 3.8% |
| Who it applies to | Serving personnel | Pensions in payment and preserved pensions |
| What it is based on | The Armed Forces' Pay Review Body recommendation | CPI to the previous September |
| Effect on a pension already being paid | None | Raises it |
If you have already retired, your pension does not rise by 3.6%. It rises by the CPI pension increase, which is 3.8% from April 2026.
How a pay rise feeds into each scheme
It depends entirely on which scheme your service is built in, and our schemes guide covers the underlying mechanics.
AFPS 75 and AFPS 05, final salary
Both base your pension on your pensionable pay when you leave. A pay award therefore raises the pension of anyone who leaves after it takes effect, and the effect is leveraged: on AFPS 05 the pension is final pay multiplied by years divided by 70, so a higher final pay lifts every year of service you have accrued, not just the current one.
AFPS 15, career average
AFPS 15 banks 1/47th of each year's pensionable pay as you go. A pay award therefore raises the slice you earn in that year. Earlier slices are not affected by this year's award directly; while you are still serving they are revalued separately in line with earnings.
You can put your own figures through the AFPS 15 calculator or the AFPS 05 calculator to see the difference a higher pensionable pay makes.
An open question about what counts as pensionable
The Armed Forces' Pay Review Body's Fifty Fifth Report, published on 9 June 2026, raised a point worth watching. At paragraph 9.11 it said it would like a better understanding of the MOD's rationale for which elements of pay are, or are not, pensionable, noting that the pensions landscape has changed with the move to a career average scheme, and that the issue is becoming increasingly salient given the move to skills based pay.
That matters here because the 2026 package leans on exactly those elements: targeted specialist skills payments, submariner retention payments and nursing incentives. Whether they count towards pensionable pay makes a real difference over a career on a career average scheme.
We are not going to tell you whether the new skills and retention payments are pensionable, because no source establishes it. That is precisely the question the Pay Review Body says is unclear. Check your own pay statement and, if it matters to a decision, ask JPAC.
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Frequently asked questions
James Hartley
James Hartley spent 22 years in the British Army, including unit personnel administration and pensions and records duties, and now writes the scheme guides and scenario pages on this site. He is not a regulated financial adviser, so the content is general information rather than personal advice.
Sources: gov.uk · GAD factors · Veterans UK · Forces Pension Society · MoneyHelper.