News & information

Pay tables, COLA info, annuity projections

This page contains the latest information on current NALC pay tables, NALC contract cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) and FERS and CSRS annuity projections. The page also contains a graph showing changes to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, the index used to calculate Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) that apply to active and retired carriers.

You also will find information about Postal Service performance and information about developments in the postal sector generally.

Letter carrier pay table

2023-2026 National Agreement

Under the terms of the 2023-2026 National Agreement between the National Association of Letter Carriers and the United States Postal Service, this salary and rate schedule is the paychart for all NALC represented employees effective Sept. 6:

Click the table above to open it as a PDF

Selected previous National Agreement pay tables are available below.

Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs)

—click on image to see a larger version (opens a new window)

August 2025 cost-of-living adjustment memo

August 12, 2025

5th Contract COLA: Accumulated COLA is $790

The fifth regular COLA under the 2023-2026 National Agreement is $790 in August following the release of the July 2025 Consumer Price Index.
On August 12, 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W, 1967=100) stood at 942.307 in July, 67.866 points above the base level of 874.441 in January 2023. The accumulated COLA through August stood at 38 cents per hour or $790 annually.

2026 Retiree COLAs Projection: CSRS is 2.5% and FERS is 2.0% as of August 2025

The 2026 COLAs for CSRS and FERS benefits are based on the increase in the average CPI-W between the 3rd quarter of 2024 (308.729) and the 3rd quarter of 2025.

Based on the July 2025 CPI-W (1982-84) of 316.349, the increase in the CPI is 2.5%. The projected 2026 COLA for CSRS is 2.5% and FERS is 2.0%. The 2026 retiree COLA calculation will be finalized in October 2025 with the release of the CPI-W for September 2025.

2026 FECA COLA Projection: 2.4% as of July 2025

Based on the release of the July 2025 CPI-W (1982-84=100), the 2026 FECA COLA projection is 2.4%. The July 2025 CPI-W of 316.349 was 2.4% above the December 2024 base index (309.067). The 2026 FECA COLA calculation will be finalized when the December 2025 CPI-W is published during the month of January 2026.

FECA COLAs are applicable only in cases where death or disability occurred more than one year prior to the adjustment’s effective date.