OPM Expands Critical Position Pay Authority: What Federal Employees Should Know

The federal government has changed how agencies can pay certain highly specialized employees as it looks for new ways to compete with the private sector for hard-to-recruit talent.

The Office of Personnel Management has finalized new regulations governing Critical Position Pay, or CPP, which allows agencies to offer higher salaries for certain mission-critical positions requiring an extremely high level of expertise.

The final rule took effect August 26, 2026, and OPM has since issued implementation guidance explaining how agencies can use the expanded authority.

What Changed?

The new regulations give agencies greater flexibility to request higher salaries for positions that are critical to an important agency mission and particularly difficult to fill or retain.

The rule removes several restrictions that made Critical Position Pay difficult to use, OPM said, including requirements limiting it to “rare” or “exceptional” circumstances.

Critical Position Pay is not a governmentwide pay increase and will not apply to most federal employees. Agencies must demonstrate that a position is mission-critical, requires an extremely high level of expertise, and that additional compensation is necessary to recruit or retain an exceptionally well-qualified individual.

Positions that could potentially qualify include certain General Schedule, Senior Executive Service, senior-level, scientific and other specialized federal positions. OPM has identified areas such as cybersecurity, information technology, data, research and economics as examples where the authority could be used.

Federal law limits CPP to no more than 800 positions governmentwide at any one time.

How High Can Critical Position Pay Go?

Under the updated regulations, Critical Position Pay may generally be set up to Level I of the Executive Schedule. Higher salaries may be approved by the OPM Director, in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget, when an agency can justify the need.

The government has already demonstrated how that flexibility could be used. In May, President Trump authorized CPP of up to $400,000 for certain positions supporting national-security investment programs.

That does not mean all employees receiving CPP can earn $400,000. It is a specific authorization that demonstrates how higher salaries may be approved for certain hard-to-fill positions.

What Employees Should Know

OPM’s implementation guidance provides several important details for employees.

Employees receiving Critical Position Pay do not receive locality pay or similar basic-pay supplements on top of their CPP rate. Agencies may also require service agreements as a condition of receiving future CPP payments.

Critical Position Pay is considered basic pay for most purposes, including retirement and life insurance.

Employees should also understand that CPP is not necessarily permanent. An agency may discontinue it, and OPM may terminate an authorization if the higher pay is no longer needed.

If CPP ends, an employee’s pay generally returns to the rate the employee would have received without the authorization. For certain General Schedule employees, however, a former CPP rate may be considered when determining pay in a subsequent GS position.

Why This Matters

The federal government continues to compete with the private sector for employees with specialized expertise in areas such as cybersecurity, technology, science, research, engineering and national security.

The expanded authority could help agencies recruit and retain employees for critical positions, but it is important for federal workers to understand that CPP is a targeted pay authority, not a general federal pay increase, and the additional compensation may not be permanent.

NAGE will continue monitoring federal pay and personnel developments and keeping members informed about changes that may affect the federal workforce.

Learn More

OPM has published additional guidance covering eligibility, pay-setting rules, service agreements and other details about Critical Position Pay.

Read OPM’s official Critical Position Pay guidance: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-administration/fact-sheets/critical-position-pay/