Quick answer
Federal civilian employees paid under the General Schedule in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk locality are currently on track to enter 2027 without an across-the-board or locality-pay increase. That is the result of the President’s August 26 alternative pay plan, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Congress has not enacted a different adjustment, and OPM has not yet issued the final 2027 pay tables. [1]
What happened
The distinction matters in Hampton Roads, where federal employment is woven into the military and civilian economy. It also matters because a “pay freeze” describes the scheduled pay tables, not necessarily every individual employee’s paycheck.
What the current federal record says
OPM says the August 26 alternative pay plan announced a decision to keep 2027 base and locality rates at 2026 levels for employees under the General Schedule and certain other pay systems. The same plan directs OPM to develop a separate 3.8 percent special-rate increase for certain federal law-enforcement personnel. OPM says the exact agency and occupational coverage for that law-enforcement increase will be announced when the 2027 special-rate tables are issued later this year. [1]
For the Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC locality pay area, the 2026 General Schedule incorporates a 1 percent general increase and an 18.80 percent locality payment. The published 2026 table ranges from $26,830 at GS-1, step 1 to $195,190 at GS-15, step 10. If the current 2027 plan is implemented without a different congressional adjustment, those scheduled General Schedule base and locality rates would remain at their 2026 levels. [2]
That is not the same as a salary cut. It is also not a guarantee that every covered employee will earn exactly the same amount in 2027.
Why a frozen table does not freeze every paycheck
General Schedule employees can move between steps within a grade when they meet the statutory and performance requirements for a within-grade increase. OPM says those increases depend on acceptable performance, completion of the required waiting period and the absence of an equivalent pay increase during that period. Promotions and other pay actions can also change an employee’s salary. [3]
Some federal positions are covered by special salary rates rather than the ordinary locality table. Hampton Roads already has examples. OPM’s 2026 special-rate table for certain contracting positions in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk locality covers specified GS-12 through GS-14 jobs at agencies including Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Naval Medical Command and U.S. Fleet Forces Command. OPM says that table is limited to positions directly supporting national security, military readiness or the defense industrial base. [4]
That means broad statements such as “all federal workers in Hampton Roads will have their pay frozen” would be too sweeping. The current federal action applies to the General Schedule and certain other systems, while separate authorities can produce different outcomes for specific occupations.
Congressional lawmakers are asking for a different result
On September 21, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia announced that he and a bipartisan, bicameral group of 110 lawmakers had asked congressional leaders to reject the planned freeze. Their letter calls for a 4.1 percent adjustment under the proposed Federal Adjustment of Income Rates Act, or at minimum a 3.8 percent increase comparable to the administration’s planned law-enforcement adjustment. [5]
The letter is a request to congressional leaders. It is not itself a pay increase, and it does not change the current OPM plan.
The practical question for federal employees is therefore not whether a raise has already been approved. It has not. The relevant question is whether Congress changes the pay-setting outcome before the 2027 tables are finalized, or whether the current plan remains in place.
Why this is a Coastal Virginia story
Second District has previously examined how much of Coastal Virginia depends on federal paychecks. The new issue is narrower: what happens to the pay table itself when the federal government sets the next year’s adjustment at zero.
The Virginia Beach-Norfolk locality is a distinct OPM pay area, and its federal workforce spans defense commands, civilian agencies and occupations with different pay authorities. That makes a single regionwide dollar estimate difficult to support without current employee counts by agency, grade, step and pay system.
Analysis: The strongest conclusion supported by the public record is narrower than an estimate of lost regional income. Under the current federal pay-setting path, the ordinary 2027 General Schedule rates for the Virginia Beach-Norfolk locality are set to stay at 2026 levels. Some employees could still receive individual step increases, promotions or special rates. Certain law-enforcement personnel are slated for a separate 3.8 percent special-rate increase. And lawmakers are asking Congress to enact a broader raise, but that request has not changed the pay tables.
What to watch next
OPM says it expects to issue the 2027 law-enforcement special-rate tables by the end of the calendar year, with a tentative effective date of January 10, 2027. The broader 2027 pay-setting process will also determine whether the Virginia Beach-Norfolk General Schedule table ultimately remains unchanged or is superseded by later federal action. [1]
Until then, the most accurate description is that a 2027 General Schedule freeze is the current plan, not a completed paycheck outcome for every federal worker in Coastal Virginia.
Sources
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, “2027 Special Rates for Certain Law Enforcement Personnel” — U.S. Office of Personnel Management. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, “2027 Special Rates for Certain Law Enforcement Personnel”
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, “Salary Table 2026-VB” — U.S. Office of Personnel Management. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, “Salary Table 2026-VB”
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, “Within-Grade Increases” — U.S. Office of Personnel Management. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, “Within-Grade Increases”
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Special Rate Table 0832 — U.S. Office of Personnel Management. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Special Rate Table 0832
- Office of Sen. Mark Warner, “Warner, Colleagues Urge Congressional Leaders to Reject Trump’s Proposed Federal Pay Freeze,” September 21, 2026 — Office of Sen. Mark Warner. Office of Sen. Mark Warner, “Warner, Colleagues Urge Congressional Leaders to Reject Trump’s Proposed Federal Pay Freeze,” September 21, 2026