Federal Annual Increment 1 December 2026 in Pakistan: Amount for Every BPS 1 to 22 and the Six Month Rule

We read the Finance Division's pay scales memorandum of 21 July 2026 and its older orders on increments on the circulars page on 7 November 2026. The full increment for every scale is in the table below, with the rule for people retiring before 1 December, and one surprise: the increment no longer lifts your house rent allowance.

The annual increment for every BPS from 1 December 2026

The Basic Pay Scales 2026 took effect on 1 July 2026, and the Finance Division's memorandum says the annual increment stays admissible on 1 December each year, under the existing conditions. So 1 December 2026 is the first increment on the new scales.

The scale table in the PDF is partly garbled for BPS-18 to 22, so we checked each of those rows by arithmetic: the minimum plus the increment times the number of stages equals the maximum in every case. How the scales were built from the old ones is in the revised basic pay scales 2026.

You need six months at your stage before 1 December

The increment falls due on 1 December after you complete at least six months of service at your current stage. Somebody who joined, or moved to a new stage, after 1 June 2026 waits until 1 December 2027, which includes every one of the new federal hires from 1 July 2026. Rules on withheld increments and efficiency bars are not affected.

This six month rule comes from a Finance Division memorandum of 8 September 1999, which restates a 1972 circular. An efficiency bar is a point in some old scales where an increment needs a fitness check. A withheld increment is one stopped as a penalty after an inquiry. Neither is changed by the yearly increment date.

1. Find the date you joined your current scale, or your last promotion or stage change.
2. Check that the date is on or before 1 June 2026.
3. Find your scale in the table above and note the increment.
4. Check your December pay slip, paid early January, for the new basic pay.
5. If the increment is missing, ask your drawing and disbursing officer in writing.

Retiring before 1 December still earns the increment, for pension only

A civil servant who completes six months in the year of retirement gets the usual increment for calculating pension only, even if they retire before 1 December. In practice, staff retiring between 1 June and 1 December are covered, and the same applies to those who die in that period.

This comes from the Finance Division's memoranda of 8 September and 29 December 1999. The 29 December clarification says it covers both gazetted and non-gazetted employees. The increment is not paid as salary. It only raises the pay figure used to work out the pension.

Two later orders cover special cases. On 6 January 2015 the Finance Division allowed one increment to employees stuck at the maximum of their scale, if they had at least six months at that maximum before retirement. On 21 September 2022 it said that a person promoted late in the retirement year, who has not served six months in the new scale, gets pay re-fixed for pension with the increment earned in the old scale. How that retirement year increment fits into the pension formula is set out in the federal pension calculation.

The increment lifts the ad hoc allowance but not house rent

The 7 per cent Ad-hoc Relief Allowance 2026 is a share of running basic pay, so it rises with each increment. But house rent allowance and other allowances paid as a percentage of pay are frozen at their 30 June 2026 level. The increment does not raise them.

That freeze is in paragraph 7 of the 21 July 2026 memorandum. It covers all special pays and allowances worked out as a percentage of pay, except those already capped, and names house rent allowance. So for a BPS-16 employee, the Rs 2,720 increment adds about Rs 190 of ad hoc relief, but nothing to house rent. The figure is our arithmetic.

Common questions

When is the annual increment for federal employees in 2026?

On 1 December 2026. The Finance Division's 21 July 2026 memorandum keeps the increment on 1 December each year.

How much is the annual increment for BPS-16 in 2026?

Rs 2,720 a month under the Basic Pay Scales 2026. BPS-17 gets Rs 4,110 and BPS-14 gets Rs 2,090.

Do I get the increment if I joined in July 2026?

No. You need six months at your stage before 1 December, so someone who joined after 1 June 2026 gets the first increment on 1 December 2027.

Does a retiring employee get the December increment?

Only for pension. An employee who completes six months in the retirement year gets the increment counted in the pension, even if they retire before 1 December.

Does the annual increment increase house rent allowance?

No. House rent allowance and other percentage allowances are frozen at their 30 June 2026 level under the 2026 pay memorandum.

Do provincial employees get the same increment?

Provinces issue their own pay scale orders. The amounts here are federal, so check your provincial finance department's notification.

What we read

We read Finance Division memorandum No. F.1(2)IMP/2026 of 21 July 2026 on the Basic Pay Scales 2026, and memoranda of 8 September 1999, 29 December 1999, 6 January 2015 and 21 September 2022 on increments in the retirement year, on its circulars page on 7 November 2026. The ad hoc relief figures are our arithmetic. Your accounts office applies the increment.