The House and Senate versions of the FY 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) combine to cover more than 4,000 pages, but many servicemembers will be focused on a small handful of numbers that will determine the size of their 2027 paychecks.

Here’s a quick recap of the pay plans from both versions, a look at recent pay raises, plus a preview of what comes next, along with MOAA’s ongoing work on the issue:

The House

The Bill: H.R. 8800 passed the House by a 216-212 vote on July 22 and was received in the Senate on Sept. 14.

The Raise: The House version echoes the pay raise proposed by the White House in its FY 2027 budget, offering:

• A 7% increase for paygrades E-1 through E-5.
• A 6% increase for paygrades E-6 through O-3.
• A 5% increase for paygrades O-4 and above.

The Senate

The Bill: S. 4784 was reported out of the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 15 but did not receive a floor vote. It’s unclear whether the full chamber will weigh in on the bill or whether the committee draft will serve as a jumping-off point for any House-Senate negotiations.

The Raise: The Senate version funds an across-the-board pay raise of 3.6%, equal to the Employment Cost Index (ECI) year-over-year increase for private-sector wages and salaries from the third quarter of 2025 – a figure which, by law, informs the military raise. However, the law notes the president may provide an “alternative pay adjustment,” and any law passed by Congress setting the raise would supersede the ECI calculation.

[RELATED: First Increase in 24 Years for Hostile Fire, Danger Pays]

Recent Raises

2025: An across-the-board raise of 4.5% (equal to the ECI increase from the third quarter of 2023) took effect Jan. 1. Servicemembers E-1 through E-4 received an additional 10% raise as of April 1, 2025, while E-5s with less than 10 years of service received an additional 7% raise as of April 1.

2026: An across-the-board raise of 3.8%, equal to the ECI figure from the third quarter of 2024, took effect Jan. 1.

What’s Next, and MOAA’s Role

NDAA negotiations will begin in earnest after the election, when lawmakers from both chambers return to Washington. It’s likely these talks will result in a 2027 pay raise somewhere between the House and Senate versions, but the final figure remains unclear.

MOAA supported the 2025 pay plan with its targeted raises designed to help junior servicemembers and military families overcome rising financial obstacles. The move had its origins in 2024 recommendations from the House Armed Services Committee’s Quality of Life Panel, a group founded in 2023 with strong backing from MOAA and fellow stakeholders.

While our key priority regarding military pay remains the need to keep up with private-sector wages (and follow the existing ECI guidelines), MOAA supports moving beyond the ECI figures as needed to improve readiness, retention, and quality of life for those in uniform. We also have long supported pay raises exceeding the ECI figures as a way to close a long-standing “pay gap” created in the mid-2010s, when raises fell below the ECI recommendations for three years (2014-16).

Keep up with the latest on the raise and the NDAA process by registering at MOAA’s Legislative Action Center and bookmarking our advocacy news page.