What is a peanut butter pay raise, and why you may not get one next year

(NEXSTAR) – It may feel early to be looking ahead to any pay raise in 2027, but some employers appear to be gearing up for increases unlike those they’ve rolled out in the past.

Meet the “peanut butter”-style wage increase. They work similiarly to spreading peanut butter across a slice of bread, hence the name. Instead of giving employees merit-based increases, companies opt for a flat rate spread across the board.

Earlier this year, Payscale, a company specializing in payroll management solutions and software, reported that multiple industries had grown interested in the peanut butter-pay raise approach. It even dubbed the practice “one of the most closely watched compensation trends for 2026.”

“It’s very attractive to companies, especially in inflationary times,” Wayne Hochwarter, a senior professor at Florida State University’s College of Business, previously told Nexstar of “peanut butter” raises. “Usually, less money is doled out. And it takes the administrative burden out of … having to design, develop, implement and........

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