How within-grade increases work
Within-grade increases (WGIs), sometimes called step increases, are automatic salary advances within your GS grade. Each GS grade has 10 steps, and you advance from one step to the next after completing the required waiting period at your current step — provided you maintain an acceptable performance rating. WGIs are governed by 5 CFR Part 531.
The dollar value of a WGI is the salary difference between your current step and the next. Because GS pay tables use fixed dollar intervals between steps, the actual raise amount varies by grade and locality area but is predictable. This calculator pulls the exact dollar amounts from the 2026 OPM pay tables.
Waiting periods by step
The waiting periods increase as you advance through the step range:
- Steps 1–3 (increases 1→2, 2→3, 3→4): 52 weeks each
- Steps 4–6 (increases 4→5, 5→6, 6→7): 104 weeks each
- Steps 7–9 (increases 7→8, 8→9, 9→10): 156 weeks each
The time from step 1 to step 10 at full speed is 18 years of continuous acceptable performance. Employees who enter government above step 1 — through superior qualifications appointments, special pay rates, or pay matching — reach step 10 sooner.
WGI vs. the annual raise
WGIs are completely separate from the annual across-the-board General Schedule salary increase, which the President proposes and Congress enacts each year (typically effective the first full pay period in January). The annual raise adjusts all GS pay rates simultaneously by a percentage. A WGI moves you one step within your grade. Both can apply to the same employee in the same year — one raises the whole table, the other moves your position within it.
Step increases also matter for your retirement: higher salary at any point in your career can elevate your High-3 average and therefore your FERS pension. See the High-3 Calculator to model how your step trajectory affects your eventual annuity.