Armed Forces pay increase: What it means for you and your questions answered
On 13 June 2023, the Government announced that Armed Forces personnel, up to and including 1-star rank, will receive a 5% pay rise, plus a further consolidated increase of £1,000.
The increase in pay coincided with the publication of the annual Armed Forces' Pay Review Body (AFPRB) report – something Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace consider before deciding pay and conditions for the military.
Many of the recommendations contained within the report – including how much personnel should be paid, levels of food and accommodation charges – will have been accepted or rejected, but there is usually some variation.
What will the increase mean for junior ranks?
On pay increases, the AFPRB report 2023 says: "We usually make a single percentage pay recommendation. This year, however, we recommend an award of 5% plus £1,000. It is essential that both elements are fully consolidated.
"Together, they will provide percentage increases ranging from 9.7% for the most junior to 5.8% for the most senior on our remit group's main pay scales.
"This recognises the greater impact food and energy price inflation has on the lower paid. It also tracks the increase in the National Living Wage (NLW)."
As of April 2023, the NLW for adults over the age of 23 in the UK was increased to £10.42 per hour – so someone working a 40-hour week will have a salary of £21,674 a year.
In 2022, a private in the British Army, after training, had a base income of £21,425 a year. With the 2023 increase in pay, the MOD says that starting salaries, after training, will now increase to £23,496 per year.
Compared with the National Living Wage, some of the most junior personnel will be around £1,822 better off per year.
Your questions answered:
Does the pay increase come out of the existing budget? If so, what gives?
All Government departments have been told they must fund the pay increases from existing budgets.
The Ministry of Defence has said that, to fund the Armed Forces pay increase, it will need to make cutbacks in civil service recruitment until March 2025.
I don't understand the £1k additional payment. Are we all getting a grand as a lump sum?
There is no lump sum being paid.
Speaking with Forces News, Armed Forces Minister James Heappey stressed that the £1,000 "is consolidated, so part of the core paycheck and, therefore, counts towards pensions".
He went on to say: "The 5% plus the £1,000 means that, for our most junior ranks, it's a 9.7% increase and even for our most senior it is a 5.5% increase."
When does this come into effect?
The increase in military pay is to be backdated to April 2023.
What other pay and savings can members of the military receive?
Personnel also receive an additional pensionable payment on top of basic salary known as X-Factor, which is supposed to compensate for the unique conditions of service life compared to civilian life.
The AFPRB reviews this rate and in 2023 recommended retaining the current rate of 14.5% – which the Government accepted.
The overall pay an individual receives will also depend on personal circumstances, such as specialist qualifications they obtain and allowances for time spent away from barracks or home.
Members of the military also receive free wrap-around childcare which the MOD says saves forces families around £3,400 per child, per year.
The cost of meals has been frozen at 2022 levels and families living in Service Families Accommodation will continue to pay subsidised rental costs at 2022 rates.
Who decides how much military personnel are paid?
Pay for members of the Armed Forces is decided by the Ministry of Defence, based on any recommendations contained within the annual Armed Forces' Pay Review Body report.
Typically, pay awards are meant to be announced at the start of the financial year and the AFPRB has repeatedly criticised the Ministry of Defence for failing to make the April deadline, saying that despite backdating, it has "the potential to cause real cost-of-living challenges for some."
The complete recommendations of the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body for Pay Round 2023 are as follows:
- A headline consolidated increase in base pay for all members of their remit group (including medical and dental officers) of 5% plus a further consolidated increase of £1,000 for all full-time UK Regular personnel with a pro-rata increase for other cohorts in their remit group.
- Officers Commissioned from the Ranks (OCFR).
Agreed to MOD's proposals for OCFR pay from 1 April 2024, to include:
- Introduction of a two-year pay dwell on commissioning, mirroring that required under Pay 16 for Direct Entry officers moving from OF1 to OF2
- Reduction of the minimum pay rise on promotion from OF2 to OF3, from 5% to 2%, mirroring wider policy and reducing the standstill period required by some who promote above increment level OF3-01
- Re-establishing a more cost-effective bridge following Pay 16 changes, cut the uppermost OCFR pay increment (increment 15), and introducing five new OCFR pay increments below increment 1, creating a new 19-increment OCFR pay spine.
Cyber:
- Agreed to the introduction of competence-based cyber payments from 1 April 2023 at the following levels: Level 2 £6,000; Level 3 £15,000 and Level 4 £25,000.
Recruitment and Retention Payments (RRP):
- Agreed with MOD's proposals to increase Levels 1 to 3 of RRP (Hydrographic) to £4.04, £6.60 and £7.63 respectively (Levels 4 to 6 are unchanged) and to bring forward the next review of the RRP.
- Agreed with MOD’s proposals to increase the Initial and Enhanced rates of RRP (Mountain Leader) to £19.85 and £23.75 respectively.
- That the following rates of RRP should increase by 5.8% from 1 April 2023 in line with the main pay award recommendation: RRP (Flying), RRP (Flying Crew), RRP (Diving), RRP (Submarine) (including Submarine Supplement and Engineer Officers Supplement), RRP (Nuclear Propulsion), RRP (Special Forces), RRP (Special Forces Communications), RRP (Special Reconnaissance), RRP (Special Intelligence), RRP (Special Communications), RRP (Parachute) (including RRP (High Altitude Parachute), RRP (Parachute Jump Instructor), RRP (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), RRP (Weapons Engineer Submariner), RRP (Naval Service Engineer) and RRP (Nursing).
Compensatory allowances:
- All rates of compensatory allowances should increase by 5.8% with effect from 1 April 2023, in line with the main pay award recommendation.
X-Factor:
- No change to the rate of X-Factor at 14.5%.
- That the rates of X-Factor for Service Personnel of OF5 and OF6 rank, Regular personnel on Flexible Service, Full Time Reserve Service of all commitments, Part Time Volunteer Reserves and Military Provost Guard Service are unchanged.
- That the rates of X-Factor for the Royal Gibraltar Regiment Regulars should increase from 6.5% to 11.5%.
- That the rates of X-Factor for Royal Gibraltar Regiment Reserves should increase from 3.25% to 5%.
Volunteer Reserves Training Bounty:
- That the rates of the Volunteer Reserves Training Bounty should increase by 5.8% from 1 April 2023 in line with the main pay award recommendation.
Defence Medical Services – Pay for Medical and Dental officers (MODO):
- A consolidated uplift of 5% for all ranks within the MODO cadre, with a consolidated increase of £1,000 for all full-time UK Regular personnel and a pro-rata increase for other cohorts from 1 April 2023.
- Agree in principle to the introduction of a bespoke pay spine for Allied Health Professionals in the initial Unified Career Management group (degree and diploma qualified), targeted for implementation in January 2024, in conjunction with changes to terms and conditions.
- That the value of Clinical Excellence Awards should increase by 5.8% from 1 April 2023 in line with the main pay award recommendation.
Accommodation charges:
- Service Family Accommodation (SFA) Combined Accommodation Assessment System Band A charges should increase by 4.5% (in line with the CPI Annual Rents for Housing Component at November 2022) from 1 April 2023. This recommendation would affect the rents of lower bands differently, as they are set in descending increments of 10% of the Band A rate. This recommendation is not being accepted and, instead, SFA charges will be frozen at 2022 rates.
- That furniture charges (for all SFA types) should increase by 4.5% (in line with the CPI Annual Rents for Housing Component at November 2022) from 1 April 2023. This recommendation is not being accepted and. instead, charges will be frozen at 2022 rates.
- Single Living Accommodation (SLA) rental charges for Grade 1 should increase by 4.5% from 1 April 2023, with increases of 3% to Grade 2, 1.5% to Grade 3 and no increase to Grade 4 accommodation.
- That charges for standard garages and carports should increase by 4.5% from 1 April 2023, with no increases for sub-standard garages and substandard carports. This recommendation is not being accepted and, instead, charges will be frozen at 2022 rates.
The SSRB has recommended: that all members of the senior military should receive a 5.5% consolidated increase to base pay; that there should be no change to the current pay arrangements for Medical Officers and Dental Officers (MODOs); that two-star MODOs should continue to be paid 10% above the base pay at the top of the MODO 1-star scale, plus X-Factor; and that three-star MODOs should continue to be paid 5% above the base pay at the top of the MODO 2-star scale, plus X-Factor.
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