(Warrior Lodge) President and Congress Approve 1.3% Military Pay Increase for 2016
President Obama and Congress have approved an average of 1.3% annual raise to federal employees including both military and civilian. This raise will be the largest cost-of-living increase for federal employees since 2010. In 2011, 2012 and 2013 these employees had all raises suspended due the pay freeze during that time. It’s worth noting though, that the military raise typically mirrors the increase in the Civilian Employment Cost Index (ECI) if not slightly exceed it. The current ECI is at 2.1% which means our servicemembers won’t be keeping pace with their civilian counterparts… Again.
This raise will give all uniformed military personnel a 1.3% raise to their monthly pay while civilian federal employees will be given a raise of 1% across the board with certain parts of the country receiving a slightly higher increase creating the 1.3% average.
In the past, with the exception of the years during the pay freeze, the federal annual raise typically mirrors the increase in the Employment Cost Index (ECI) if not slightly exceeds it. The current ECI is at 2.1% for a 12-month period.
However, according to federal law the President of the United States does have the right to adjust the pay rates up or down as necessary if it is determined there is a “national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare.” Congress must then be notified of the decision by September 1 of the year in question where they have a final say in the matter.
An executive order confirming the rate of annual raises will usually be granted in December and will take effect on January 1 of the following year.
Documentation from the Congressional Research Service outlines the process of military and civilian federal employees pay increases in more detail.
Basic Pay: Increases Are Linked to Increases in the Employment Cost Index (ECI)
Section 1009 (c) of Title 37 provides a permanent formula for an automatic annual increase in basic pay that is indexed to the annual increase in the Employment Cost Index (ECI) for “wages and salaries, private industry workers.”
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