Step increases are one of the most reliable parts of your postal pay progression, but most employees don’t fully understand how they work until they notice one is late or missing. Here’s how the system works across every major craft, what each step is worth, and how to make sure you’re getting paid correctly.
How Step Increases Work
When you’re hired or converted to career, you’re placed at a specific grade and step on your craft’s pay schedule. Your grade reflects the job classification (PS-05, PS-06, etc. for clerks; CC-01, CC-02 for carriers). Your step reflects your time in that grade. As you accumulate time, you automatically advance to the next step after a set waiting period.
Step increases are not the same thing as COLAs or general wage increases. Those apply to everyone at once across the entire pay schedule. Step increases are individual — they’re based on your own service time and happen on your own schedule.
The key things to know: step increases are automatic (no application or supervisor approval needed), they’re based on weeks of service in your current step, and they can be delayed by extended LWOP or certain disciplinary actions — but under normal circumstances they happen on schedule.
APWU Step Increase Waiting Periods
Correction, September 21, 2026: Earlier versions incorrectly described post-2011 APWU steps as 46 weeks and generalized NALC/NPMHU waits. The corrected rules below also power the Career Timeline.
APWU Article 9.2 (pages 26–27) specifies 36 weeks for Grades 4–7 and 30 weeks for Grades 8–11. The appointment-date schedule changes the available steps, not these grade-based waits. Effective September 19, post-2011 top steps are Grade 4/J, Grade 5/L, and Grades 6–7/M. Previous service at the old top step counts toward the 36-week wait; confirm your individual advancement on PS Form 50.
NALC Step Increase Waiting Periods
The March 7, 2026 NALC chart lists 46 weeks between Table 2 steps, now B through P. Table 1 varies: A–B and B–C take 96 weeks; C–D through I–J take 44; J–K and K–L take 34; L–M and M–N take 26; N–O takes 24; O–P takes 46. Top step is P for both tables.
CCAs have an hourly BB-to-AA progression after 52 weeks; they are not on the career timeline schedule.
NPMHU Step Increase Waiting Periods
The published NPMHU wage chart specifies 48 weeks between Table 2 steps. Table 1 uses 88 weeks from AA–A through B–C; 44 from C–D through I–J; 34 from J–K through K–L; 26 from L–M through M–N; and 24 from N–O through O–P. Top step is P.
MHAs advance from Step A to Step B after 26 weeks. Full-time flexible mail handlers move to Table 2/AA after 48 weeks unless converted to FTR sooner.
What Each Step Is Worth
Compare the two published rates for your own grade and consecutive steps. Do not substitute a generic hourly increase: the amount depends on the schedule and rate basis. The September 19 APWU chart separates FTR annual, PTR hourly, and PTF hourly rates. See the APWU pay-scale guide for the current schedule.
How to Check Your Next Step Date
PS Form 50 is your primary source. Every time a personnel action happens — conversion, promotion, step increase, reassignment — you get a new PS Form 50. The form shows your current grade and step, and the effective date of your last step increase. Add the appropriate grade- and step-specific waiting period to that date to calculate your next step.
PostalEase / LiteBlue shows your current pay rate, which you can cross-reference with the pay tables to confirm your step. If your pay doesn’t match what the table says for your grade and step, something may be wrong.
Your earnings statement shows your hourly rate. Compare it to the published pay scale for your craft. If you’ve passed the waiting period and your rate hasn’t increased, flag it immediately.
What Can Delay a Step Increase
Extended LWOP is the most common cause. If you take leave without pay for an extended period, that time generally doesn’t count toward your step increase waiting period. The specific rules vary by contract, but the general principle is that your waiting period clock pauses during extended LWOP.
Disciplinary actions can also delay a step increase in rare cases. Under some contracts, a less-than-satisfactory performance rating can result in a step increase being withheld. This is uncommon for bargaining unit employees but worth knowing about.
System errors happen. The payroll system is not perfect, and step increases occasionally get missed or delayed due to programming issues — especially after major contract implementations. If yours is late, file a grievance through your steward. Step increase errors are among the most straightforward grievances to resolve.
Step Increases and Retirement
Your step matters for retirement because your FERS annuity is based on your high-3 average salary — the highest three consecutive years of basic pay. Every step increase raises your high-3, which permanently increases your pension. The effect depends on how long the higher basic pay is included in the high-3 calculation.
This is one reason it’s worth tracking your steps carefully. A missed step increase doesn’t just cost you money now — it can reduce your retirement income for life.
Sources: APWU 2024–2027 Contract Summary, NALC contract resources, ELM Section 422 (Salary Schedules for Bargaining Unit Employees).