The armed forces are set to receive an above-inflation pay award, with an announcement expected in the coming days.
The award, for the current financial year 2026-27, will be backdated to 1st April.
Traditionally recommendations by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB) would be accepted by the Government in time to be implemented on 1st April. This gradually slipped over the years but this time round there was an aspiration for a more timely award. Delay in issuing the award is not ideal, but has at times been claimed to allow a more generous award when it came.
This year's pay recommendations will cover the whole of the Armed Forces including senior officers of two-star rank and above, who had historically had their pay recommended by the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB).