SES Pay Scale: Bands, Caps, and Performance Awards

The SES pay scale in 2026 runs from a floor of $151,661 to a ceiling of either $209,600 or $228,000, depending on whether the executive’s agency has an OPM-certified performance appraisal system.¹² The Senior Executive Service uses a single broad pay band rather than grades and steps, so where an executive lands inside that band depends on the weight of the job and how the agency rates performance year to year.

How the 2026 Pay Band Works

The SES has no grades, no steps, and no automatic annual increases. Agencies set each executive’s salary somewhere within one continuous range.

The floor is fixed by statute. Under 5 U.S.C. § 5376, the minimum SES rate is 120 percent of the base rate for GS-15, step 1, which produces $151,661 for 2026.³¹

The ceiling depends on the agency:

Non-certified appraisal system: maximum basic pay is Level III of the Executive Schedule, $209,600.
Certified appraisal system: maximum basic pay is Level II, $228,000.²

Within the range, the agency head has broad discretion. Pay decisions weigh the scope of the position, its organizational impact, and the candidate’s qualifications and prior compensation. New SES appointees typically negotiate a starting salary rather than slot into a predetermined step, and later adjustments track annual performance ratings rather than time in grade.

Why Certification Matters for Your Paycheck

Certification is granted by OPM with the concurrence of the Office of Management and Budget. An agency has to show that its appraisal system draws real distinctions between strong and weak performers and ties pay to those results.⁴

The $18,400 spread between the certified and non-certified basic-pay ceilings is only part of the picture. A certified agency also gets a higher cap on total annual compensation and more room to fund performance awards. If an agency loses certification, the lower cap comes back into force. Existing pay above that lower cap is generally preserved, but no further increases are possible until the rate falls below it again.

The Cap on Total Annual Compensation

Basic pay is not the whole story. Under 5 U.S.C. § 5307, total compensation in a calendar year is capped, and everything that counts as pay under Title 5 rolls into that ceiling: basic pay, any locality payment, performance awards, and recruitment, retention, or relocation incentives.⁵⁶

For SES members, the default aggregate ceiling is the Level I Executive Schedule rate, $253,100 for 2026.⁶⁷⁸

Money over the cap is not forfeited. Any excess is deferred and paid as a lump sum at the start of the next calendar year. If the executive leaves federal service or dies before that date, the excess is paid out at separation.⁹

Locality Pay Works Differently in the SES

Executives in certified agencies do not receive separate locality pay. The higher basic-pay cap is treated as already folding in the geographic adjustment. Executives in non-certified agencies may receive locality-based comparability payments, but combined base pay and locality cannot exceed the $209,600 Level III cap.⁸ In practice, executives at non-certified agencies stationed in expensive metro areas see little effective locality bump because their basic pay is usually already close to the cap.

Performance Awards Under the FY 2026 System

Career SES members rated at least “Fully Successful” (Level 3 under the new appraisal system that takes effect in fiscal year 2026) are eligible for an annual performance award, paid as a lump sum of 5 to 20 percent of basic pay. These awards do not permanently raise base salary.¹⁰

The FY 2026 system ties the rating to the award amount more directly than before:

Level 3 (Satisfactory): performance award equal to 5 percent of basic pay.
Level 4 (Great) or Level 5 (Outstanding): the only ratings that may receive an award above 5 percent.
Level 1 or Level 2: no performance award and no upward pay adjustment.¹¹

Rating distribution is also constrained. For agencies with five or more SES members, no more than 30 percent of total ratings may fall at Level 4 or Level 5 unless the President grants a waiver.¹¹

Agencies also face a pool limit. Total SES performance-award spending in a fiscal year cannot exceed the greater of 10 percent of the agency’s aggregate SES basic-pay bill from the prior year, or 20 percent of the average annual basic-pay rate for career appointees in the agency during the prior year.¹⁰

Presidential Rank Awards

Presidential Rank Awards recognize career executives whose contributions extend beyond a single appraisal cycle. Agency heads nominate; an interagency review follows; the President makes the final selection.¹² Two tiers exist:

Distinguished Rank Award: lump sum equal to 35 percent of annual basic pay. Awarded to no more than 1 percent of career SES members in a given year.
Meritorious Rank Award: lump sum equal to 20 percent of annual basic pay. Awarded to no more than 5 percent of career SES members in a given year.¹³

For an executive earning $228,000, a Distinguished Rank Award would come to $79,800 before the aggregate limitation is applied. Because rank award payments count toward total compensation, any amount that would push the executive past the annual ceiling is deferred to the following calendar year.⁵

Recruitment, Retention, and Relocation Incentives

Agencies can add recruitment incentives of up to 25 percent of annual basic pay, multiplied by the length of the required service period (up to four years). With a waiver for critical agency need, that ceiling rises to 50 percent of basic pay, though the total payout across the service period cannot exceed 100 percent of annual basic pay.¹⁴ Incentives come with a signed service agreement, and an executive who leaves early must repay a proportional share.

Retention and relocation incentives follow a similar structure and percentage range. Agencies use retention incentives when a hard-to-replace executive is likely to leave for the private sector, and relocation incentives when a position requires a geographic move. All three types count toward the aggregate compensation ceiling.

How SES Pay Compares to the General Schedule

The gap between the top of the General Schedule and the bottom of the SES range is intentionally narrow. A GS-15, step 10 employee in a high-cost locality can earn a salary that approaches or touches the SES minimum. The financial advantage of the SES sits at the higher ceiling, the performance awards, and eligibility for Presidential Rank Awards. An executive at a certified agency earning $228,000 in base pay, plus a 15 percent performance award, plus a Meritorious Rank Award in the same year could see total compensation well above $300,000 before the aggregate cap kicks in.

The trade-off is job security. SES members serve at-will in a way that General Schedule employees do not, and under the FY 2026 appraisal system two below-Satisfactory ratings inside three years trigger mandatory removal from the SES.¹¹ The headline pay number can also mislead: SES members in certified agencies receive no separate locality adjustment, so an executive in an expensive metro area cannot compare their salary one-for-one against a GS-15 who is receiving a 30-plus-percent locality bump on top of base pay.

1
Federal Register. January 2026 Pay Schedules
2
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Salary Table No. 2026-EX Rates of Basic Pay for the Executive Schedule
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 5376 – Pay for Certain Senior-Level Positions
4
eCFR. 5 CFR Part 430 Subpart D – Performance Appraisal Certification for Pay Purposes
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 5307 – Limitation on Certain Payments
6
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Fact Sheet: Aggregate Limitation on Pay
7
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Updated Guidance – Pay Freeze for Certain Senior Political Officials
8
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Senior Executive Service Compensation
9
eCFR. 5 CFR Part 530 Subpart B – Aggregate Limitation on Pay
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 5384 – Performance Awards in the Senior Executive Service
11
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. New Senior Executive Service Performance Appraisal System and Performance Plan
12
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Call for Nominations for FY 2026 Presidential Rank Awards
13
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Presidential Rank Awards 2024
14
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Fact Sheet: Recruitment Incentives