The Payment of Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Act, 2026, which seeks to increase the salaries and allowances of ministers and MLAs, was passed unanimously in the Assembly on Thursday.

From Kerala Formation Day, November 1, the monthly salaries and allowances of ministers, the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, the opposition leader and the chief whip will increase from ₹1.08 lakh to roughly ₹1.35 lakh, roughly 25 per cent, and that of MLAs to ₹98,000 from ₹70,000, a raise of 40 per cent. The MLA pension will also increase by 20 per cent, from ₹50,000 to ₹60,000. The increase in salaries and pensions alone would result in an additional annual outgo of ₹6.91 crore.

The additional expenditure by way of the hike in vehicle advance and house building advance (HBA) for Ministers, the hike in journey allowances inside and outside the State, including air fare for MLAs, and the hike in accidental insurance coverage has not yet been ascertained.

It was in March 2018 that salaries and pensions of ministers and MLAs were revised. "For the last eight years, the prices of all commodities including petrol, diesel, electricity etc. have increased considerably.

Considering the above, the Hon'ble Minister for Parliamentary Affairs ordered the revision of salaries and allowances of Ministers, the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, the Leader of Opposition, the Chief Whip and the Members of the Legislative Assembly and suggested necessary amendments to the Payment of Salaries and Allowances Act, 1951," the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Act said.