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Congress has amended a law directly affecting the pay of Civil Service Mariners (CIVMARs) assigned to Military Sealift Command (MSC), resulting in recent lump sum payouts of aggregate pay in deferred earnings accounts, and an increase in base pay for some mariners beginning on their upcoming June 5 paycheck.
On Dec. 18, 2025, the President signed the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law. This annual bill included an amendment to Title 5, U.S.C. 5348, approved by both the House and Senate, that adjusts CIVMAR base pay limitations to a rate not greater than the annual salary of the vice president and excludes CIVMARs from aggregate limitation on their pay.
“Every year we do a comparison across the maritime industry so we can make adjustments to pay our mariners equally to commercial industry mariners, and it is approved by the Department of War, and the Masters and Chiefs have had a higher number on the schedule of wages,” said Frank Cunningham, MSC, Total Force Management. “And for years, their pay would get reduced to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Executive Schedule limit, and the difference had to be forfeited.”
According to Cunningham, CIVMAR pay is regulated by Title 5, U.S. Code 5348 and specifies that their pay should be consistent with those in the commercial maritime industry. An inclusion under section 5373 of Title 5, U.S. Code, capped the annual rate of basic pay for CIVMARs at a rate not higher than the Level IV Executive Schedule, creating a significant pay gap of paralleled commercial mariners.
This cap affected MSC’s most senior licensed officers, the Masters and Chief Engineers.
An MSC spokesperson, Joseph Davila, Congressional Liaison and Deputy Public Affairs, said, “The Executive Schedule is managed by OPM and having our CIVMAR’s pay capped at a lower level was a severe disadvantage to federal maritime employment.”
“This Executive Schedule limitation was harming retention, causing highly skilled senior leaders to leave MSC for commercial industry employment,” said Cunningham. “It incentivized upward-rising CIVMARs to separate from federal service before achieving the rank of Master or Chief Engineer, creating a significant struggle to meet minimum shipboard manning.”
According to Davila, the limitation was putting top leaders at a pay disadvantage compared to their industry peers.
“The base pay cap acted as an artificial ceiling to CIVMAR pay with forfeiture up to 31 percent for Ship Master’s and up to 26 percent for Chief Engineer’s salaries on average in comparison to those in the commercial industry,” said Davila.
Cunningham said raising the pay limitation was vital in creating an upward trend in retention for MSC.
“Our attrition rate was at 16 percent, so it was important for us to make changes that were highly beneficial to our CIVMARs,” said Cunningham. “Our attrition rate is now down to 10 percent and there have been a lot of positive changes made to help with retention and recruitment of our critical billets.”
Additionally, CIVMARs had an aggregate pay limitation on discretionary earnings, where pay that exceeded the limit was transferred and held in a non-interest-bearing deferred earnings account.
“Under the previous law, CIVMARs could not receive any allowance, differential, bonus, award, or any other cash payments in a calendar year, when added to their total basic pay, if it caused their aggregate compensation to exceed the annual allowed payable rate,” Davila said. “Any amount in excess of the aggregate limit would be deferred and was assessable only upon leaving federal service.”
An amendment to the current law was approved by the House and Senate as part of the FY26 NDAA and was signed by the President, excluding CIVMARs from aggregate limitation on pay, making CIVMAR pay comparable to their maritime industry counterparts.
With the removal of aggregate pay limitations, Cunningham said any deferred earnings that were being held, were released to the CIVMAR in a lump sum dispersion in their May 22 paycheck, and future discretionary earnings will be paid at the time it is earned.
“This is what our CIVMARs have been wanting and what should have been happening all along - to get paid the money when they earn it,” said Cunningham. “So, if they get an award or work overtime, they will get paid during that pay period as opposed to the money going into a deferred earning account.”
Cunningham said he anticipates the recent changes will help with recruiting, and retention, as well as incentivizing career development.
“Now that we have made significant changes in the pay, there’s motivation for CIVMARs to develop themselves, get promoted, and stay at MSC,” said Cunningham. “I believe our retention rates will continue to improve as a result of these changes.”
Cunningham says the rise in base pay affected a combination of approximately 170 senior leaders, while the deferred earnings release greatly impacted approximately 300 mariners.
In addition to pay, Davila said other changes implemented in the NDAA were CIVMAR access to military commissary, as well as Morale, Welfare, and Recreation retail facilities as an enhancement to quality of life. CIVMARs should now be able to patronize these facilities by showing their transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) alongside their Common Access Card for entry.
“This is a significant win for Military Sealift Command, and our workforce, and it’s a testament to the commitment that MSC has for our CIVMARs, their growth, and the retention of our CIVMAR workforce,” Cunningham said. “We are working greatly to improve the quality of life and quality of work for CIVMARS and we’ll continue doing so.”
MSC exists to support the joint warfighter across the full spectrum of military operations, with a workforce that includes approximately 6,000 Civil Service Mariners and 1,500 contract mariners, supported by 1,500 shore staff and 3,500 active duty and reserve military personnel.
| Date Taken: | 06.01.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.01.2026 11:32 |
| Story ID: | 566544 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 285 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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