Wage indexation January 2027: the forecast and what the centenindex changes

If you work as a white-collar employee in supplementary joint committee 200, your pay is indexed once a year, on 1 January. For January 2027, SD Worx estimated the indexation at 3.41 percent at the end of June; in May, estimates from the same house and from Acerta still assumed 3.80 to 4.06 percent. Those figures moving is normal: the definitive percentage depends on inflation in the final months of the year and is only fixed at the end of December. We refresh this article whenever new forecasts appear; you will read the definitive figure here in early January.

How the January indexation is calculated

The committee 200 indexation compares the average smoothed health index of November and December 2026 with the same months a year earlier. The smoothed health index is the four-month average of the health index, the consumer price index excluding tobacco, alcohol and fuels. Because energy prices in particular push that index around, forecasts fluctuate through the year: every month inflation comes in higher or lower, the estimate shifts a little. Other sectors follow their own rhythm: the metal sector (committee 111) already indexed by 2.81 percent in July 2026, construction by 1.09668 percent, and chemicals index quarterly. Which arrangement applies to you is determined by your joint committee.

The centenindex changes the calculation

New in 2026 is the centenindex: a budget measure that partially caps indexation for those earning more than 4,000 euros in fixed full-time base pay. The mechanism only touches the first 2 percentage points of the indexation: that part yields at most 2 percent of 4,000 euros, so 80 euros gross, even if you earn more. Everything above those 2 percentage points is applied to your full wage. If you earn 4,000 euros or less, nothing changes. Premiums, meal vouchers and variable pay do not count towards determining whether you are above the threshold.

A concrete example

Take a white-collar employee with 4,500 euros base pay and the current forecast of 3.41 percent. Without the centenindex, the indexation would yield 153.45 euros gross per month. With the centenindex, the first 2 percent yields at most 80 euros (instead of 90 euros), and the remaining 1.41 percent is simply calculated on 4,500 euros: 63.45 euros. Together 143.45 euros, a difference of 10 euros gross per month. The higher your pay, the bigger that gap: at 6,000 euros base pay it is already 40 euros gross per month. Annoying, but the core stands: the largest part of the indexation still arrives.

What to do with this

Remember this above all: indexation is not a raise. It only corrects inflation and keeps your purchasing power level; your real pay does not grow through it. A genuine pay rise is negotiated on top of the index, and autumn is the right moment: budgets for the new year are set then. First check in the salary guide whether your current pay is market-rate, and use the gross-to-net calculator to see what a proposal is worth net. If you are below the market, a move usually corrects faster and more thoroughly than waiting internally: our vacancies simply show the gross range every time.