From 1 May 2026, federal civil servants (Bundesbeamte) in Germany will receive higher salaries under the federal pay scale restructuring. The lowest pay grade, step 1 (Stufe 1), is being abolished across all salary groups.
Every official currently in that step automatically moves up to step 2, receiving a higher base salary from day one. No application required.
The reform also includes a one-off €138 payment and additional back payments for officials with children.
NOTE: The law implementing these changes (Bundesalimentationsgesetz, or BAlimentG) is currently a draft published by the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) on 14 April 2026. It has not yet passed the Bundestag. Until parliament votes, the changes are being paid out as advance payments (Abschlagszahlungen). Final figures could change. Actual back payments can only be made after the law passes, which is unlikely before late 2026 or early 2027.
Why the German government is restructuring federal pay
The reform is not a gift from the government. It is a legal obligation.
The Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) ruled on 17 September 2025 that Germany’s states must ensure that public-sector pay meets a minimum salary threshold. It is 80% of the national median equivalent income (Median-Äquivalenzeinkommen).
Earlier, the state was required to pay 15% above the basic social security level (Bürgergeld).
The Berlin ruling covered state officials from 2008 to 2020, with the BVerfG finding around 95% of pay grades unconstitutional. The logic applies equally to federal law.
The BMI concluded that the existing federal pay structure required a fundamental overhaul to stay within constitutional bounds. Hence, the BAlimentG bill is passed.
The reform runs in parallel with the standard pay round for federal public-sector employees. A collective agreement reached on 6 April 2025 set a 3.0% increase from 1 April 2025 and a further 2.8% increase from 1 May 2026. Both of these are being transferred to the civil servant pay scale.
What changes from 1 May 2026 for the civil servants’ salaries
- Abolition of pay step 1. The lowest rung of every grade in pay scale A (Besoldungsordnung A) is removed. It covers the general civil service from A3 to A16. Anyone currently in step 1 of any grade automatically moves to what was previously step 2. For an official at the lowest group, A3 step 1, the monthly basic salary rises from €2,706.99 to €3,107.26. That is a monthly increase of €400.27. Because the court also requires adequate spacing between each step, all other officials move up by proportionate amounts. The reform affects new entrants most: they will now start in what was previously step 2, meaning a better salary on day one of the job.
- One-off payment of €138. Every federal official, judge, or soldier who was in service for at least one day in 2021 receives a single lump-sum payment of €138. This compensates for a period the BVerfG identified as one where minimum pay standards were not met.
- Back payments for officials with children. The BAlimentG creates a new retroactive family supplement covering January 2021 to April 2026. Officials with one or two children are entitled to additional monthly amounts for that period. For one child, the total back payment for the years 2021, 2022, and 2025 alone amounts to approximately €1,363. Families with three or more children receive separate top-up payments going back to 2017.
- Adjusted pay for professors and judges. Federal professors (Besoldungsordnung W) and federal judges and public prosecutors (Besoldungsordnung R) also have their pay restructured to maintain constitutional spacing relative to the A scale.
- What does not change. Senior officials in pay scale B (Besoldungsordnung B) receive no extra increase beyond the standard 2.8% that all grades receive. This includes department heads, agency presidents, and state secretaries. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt confirmed this explicitly, noting he and other cabinet members do not benefit from the structural uplift.
- The spouse allowance is being abolished. The marriage supplement (Familienzuschlag Stufe 1), which gave married civil servants an extra monthly payment of around €171, is being phased out. The government’s reasoning is that the new minimum pay calculation already assumes a two-earner household. For 2026, the draft law treats a notional second income of €22,648 gross per year as standard, regardless of whether the partner actually earns that. Only where the partner demonstrably earns less or does not work will specific supplementary allowances kick in. This is a meaningful change for single-earner households. If your partner earns less than the assumed figure, your pay increase may not fully compensate for the lost allowance. If you are in this situation, it is worth reviewing your total pay calculation with your Bezügestelle (the office that processes your pay).
NOTE: The abolition of the spouse allowance (Familienzuschlag Stufe 1) has already triggered legal challenges in other German states that implemented similar reforms. The federal version may face comparable court challenges. The outcome is not yet clear.
The reform does not cover state or municipal civil servants
The BAlimentG covers only federal civil servants, judges, soldiers, and federal pension recipients. It does not apply to:
- Civil servants employed by German states (Länder)
- Municipal officials
- Employees of post-successor companies (Deutsche Post, Telekom) under legacy civil servant status.
State-level officials are covered by separate state pay rounds.
States are legally required to adjust their own pay in line with the new constitutional benchmark. But they do so on their own timetables.
Several Länder are currently involved in legal disputes over their own pay levels.
When will you actually receive the back payments
The 2.8% uplift will be paid as an advance from 1 May 2026. That covers the ongoing salary increase.
Back payments: The one-off €138, the child supplements, and the structural gaps owed since 2021 cannot legally be paid until the Bundestag passes the BAlimentG as a formal law. The law is currently going through the interministerial consultation process.
A cabinet decision and parliamentary vote are still required. The earliest realistic date for final passage is late 2026 or early 2027.
If you want to protect your retroactive claims, file a formal objection (Widerspruch) against your pay notices for previous years. Many civil servant unions, including ver.di and the dbb Beamtenbund, recommend this as a precautionary step while the law is pending.
