GS Pay Scale 2021
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will release the General Schedule Pay Scale 2021 in the upcoming months. While the proposed increase is much less than what it was last year, the White House promises an increase in performance-based financial awards and bonuses.
The 1% proposed GS pay scale increase is also behind the proposed military pay scale. For 2021, the proposed defense budget increase is 3%. If this were to pass the Congress, it will be the first time in over ten years the military pay increase is 3% and over in consecutive years. The GS pay scale in 2021 looks to be pretty much the same as last year but added with the bonuses and awards, federal employees can get more than just 1% increase.
Performance-Based Financial Awards and Bonuses
Federal workers can get a lump-sum cash award based on how successful they are with the tasks they’ve given. All agencies of the federal government ensure the workers get bonus pay for high performance in the workplace. Let’s say you’ve been assigned to do a task that should take you three days. If you finish that task in two days, that adds up and the next time a task is assigned and finishing that with excellency in time once again will surely grant you a cash bonus.
Generally, the cash awards are based on the rating of record which can be up to 10 percent of a worker’s salary. For exceptional performance, the cash award can be as much as 20 percent of the salary. It is always good to differentiate between the two. Otherwise, you may get your hopes for something that isn’t expected.
2021 Pay Tables
| General Schedule | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Step 9 | Step 10 |
| GS 1 | $25,755 | $26,617 | $27,474 | $28,325 | $29,181 | $29,682 | $30,529 | $31,383 | $31,417 | $32,219 |
| GS 2 | $28,958 | $29,647 | $30,607 | $31,417 | $31,770 | $32,704 | $33,639 | $34,573 | $35,508 | $36,442 |
| GS 3 | $31,596 | $32,649 | $33,702 | $34,755 | $35,808 | $36,861 | $37,914 | $38,967 | $40,020 | $41,073 |
| GS 4 | $35,470 | $36,651 | $37,834 | $39,016 | $40,198 | $41,380 | $42,562 | $43,745 | $44,926 | $46,108 |
| GS 5 | $39,683 | $41,007 | $42,330 | $43,654 | $44,977 | $46,300 | $47,623 | $48,946 | $50,269 | $51,592 |
| GS 6 | $44,235 | $45,710 | $47,185 | $48,659 | $50,135 | $51,609 | $53,084 | $54,559 | $56,033 | $44,235 |
| GS 7 | $49,156 | $50,794 | $52,433 | $54,071 | $55,709 | $57,347 | $58,986 | $60,623 | $62,261 | $63,899 |
| GS 8 | $53,901 | $55,698 | $57,495 | $59,291 | $61,088 | $62,885 | $64,682 | $66,478 | $68,275 | $70,072 |
| GS 9 | $59,534 | $61,519 | $63,503 | $65,488 | $67,473 | $69,457 | $71,442 | $73,426 | $75,411 | $77,396 |
| GS 10 | $66.216 | $68.424 | $70.631 | $72.839 | $75.046 | $77.253 | $79.460 | $81.668 | $83.875 | $86.083 |
| GS 11 | $72,750 | $75,175 | $77,600 | $80,025 | $82,450 | $84,874 | $87,299 | $89,724 | $92,149 | $94,574 |
| GS 12 | $87,198 | $90,105 | $93,011 | $95,919 | $98,826 | $101,734 | $104,641 | $107,547 | $110,455 | $113,362 |
| GS 13 | $103,689 | $107,145 | $110,603 | $114,059 | $117,516 | $120,972 | $124,429 | $127,886 | $131,343 | $134.799 |
| GS 14 | $122,529 | $126,613 | $130,698 | $134,781 | $138,865 | $142,949 | $147,033 | $151,117 | $155,201 | $159,286 |
| GS 15 | $144,128 | $148,932 | $153,737 | $158,542 | $163,347 | $168,151 | $172,508 | $172,508 | $172,508 | $172,508 |
*These salaries aren’t official. It is calculated based on the 1% proposed pay increase. If the 1% pay increase passes the Congress, the base salary in 2021 will look like the above table.
