Asking for a Raise: What to Say, When to Say It and What to Expect

Key takeaways

•      Merit budgets are locked four to six months before increases are paid. Mercer surveyed 756 US organisations and found the average merit increase paid in spring 2026 was 3.1 per cent. A one-level promotion averaged around 8.5 per cent.

•      That gap is the real lever. Arguing for a different role beats arguing for a bigger number in the same role.

•      In a LendingTree survey, 82 per cent of full-time workers who asked for a raise received one. Most never ask.

•      Bring evidence in three categories: money you made, money you saved, risk you removed. Vague claims about hard work get vague answers.

There is a version of this conversation where you walk in, explain that you have worked hard all year, and your manager says the budget is already set. That is an announcement, and you arrived after the decision.

Almost everything that decides whether you get a raise happens before you open your mouth.

What your employer has already decided

Pay rises come out of a pool, sized during annual planning, usually in the autumn for a spring payout. By the time your review lands, your manager is dividing a fixed sum between everyone who reports to them.

The numbers are public. WTW surveyed 1,569 US organisations and found salary increase budgets holding at 3.5 per cent for 2026. Mercer's QuickPulse survey of 756 organisations found the mean merit increase actually paid this spring was 3.1 per cent. Only 4 per cent of employers gave everyone the same flat increase.

Route to more money	Typical size	What it requires
Standard merit increase	Around 3 per cent	Showing up and performing. Largely automatic.
Promotion to the next level	Around 8.5 per cent on average	Evidence you are already doing the next job, plus an open slot.

A 3 per cent merit increase on a £45,000 salary is £1,350. A promotion at 8.5 per cent is £3,825. The title conversation is worth nearly three times the money conversation, and most people only ever have the second one.

Timing the ask

You are trying to influence the decision while it is still being made, which means raising it a full cycle ahead rather than two weeks before reviews.

When	What is happening internally	What you should be doing
4 to 6 months out	Finance sets the pool. Managers rank their teams.	Have the conversation. Your name needs to be on the list now.
2 to 3 months out	Allocations are drafted and defended upward.	Follow up with a one-page summary your manager can forward.
Review week	Numbers are signed off.	Too late to change this cycle. Ask what would change the answer next time.

Two exceptions let you ignore the calendar: immediately after delivering something large and visible, while the credit is still attached to your name, and when your role has materially changed, for example after absorbing a departing colleague's work. Both are off-cycle adjustments, which Mercer found two-thirds of employers now use.

Build the evidence file

•      Revenue you influenced. Deals closed, renewals saved, conversion improved. Name the figure and the period.

•      Cost you removed. Hours saved by a process you rebuilt, vendor spend cut, headcount made unnecessary.

•      Risk you removed. An audit passed, a compliance gap closed, a system that stopped falling over.

Anything fitting none of those three is effort rather than impact, and effort does not win budget arguments. Aim for three to five entries, one sentence each, each with a number in it.

Work out the number before the meeting

Your manager has to repeat your case in a room you are not in. Name a figure, because the alternative is taking whatever is left in the pool.

•      Check US Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS data for your occupation and metro area. Free and not self-reported.

•      Read job adverts for your role at comparable employers. Pay transparency rules in states including Colorado, California, New York and Washington mean many postings carry the actual band.

Then ask for a number slightly above your target and say where it came from. "I am asking for £52,000, the midpoint of the published range for this role" is a sentence a manager can carry upstairs. "I would like a bit more" is not.

The conversation itself

Book it as its own meeting, not an add-on to a one-to-one.

1.    Say what the meeting is for. "I would like to talk about my compensation for the next cycle." No preamble about loving the team.

2.    Give the evidence. Three to five lines, numbers included. Then stop talking.

3.    Name the number and its source. One sentence.

4.    Ask what happens next. "What would you need from me to make that case?" This turns a yes-or-no into a plan, and works even when the first answer is no.

Then let the silence sit. Filling the pause by negotiating against yourself has cost more money than any other mistake here.

Answering the four standard refusals

What you will hear	What it usually means	What to say
"It is not in the budget."	Often true, and the budget is set annually.	"Understood. Can we agree in writing what I need to show to be in the next cycle?"
"Let's revisit in six months."	A soft no with no commitment attached.	"Happy to. Can we book the date now and agree what you want to see by then?"
"Everyone at your level is paid the same."	There is a band and you are inside it.	"Where in the band am I, and what moves someone to the next level?"
"We cannot move salary, but we can look at other things."	A genuine opening, and often the easiest yes to get.	"Then let's talk about title, a one-off bonus, training budget or compressed hours."

A title change with no money attached is still worth taking if the title is externally recognisable. It raises the band you are benchmarked against next year and in your next search.

Myths and facts

Myth	Fact
Working harder will get you noticed eventually.	Merit pools are split on documented impact and manager advocacy. Unrecorded effort rarely surfaces in a ranking meeting.
You should wait for your annual review.	By review week the allocation is signed off. The useful conversation happens four to six months earlier.
Mentioning a competing offer is the strongest play.	It works once, it can damage trust, and you must be willing to leave. Internal evidence plus market data is safer.

If the answer is no

Get three things before you leave: the criteria for yes, a date to revisit, and both in an email you send afterwards. That email is the most valuable thing you take away, because it turns a vague promise into something you can point at in six months.

If the same answer arrives twice with the criteria met both times, you have learned something useful about where you work.

Frequently asked questions

How much of a raise should I ask for?

Anchor to market data, not a percentage. If you sit below the published band, ask for the midpoint. Inside the band and performing well, 5 to 10 per cent is defensible against an average merit increase of around 3 per cent.

When is the best time to ask for a raise?

Four to six months before increases are paid, while the budget is being drafted and your manager is ranking the team. Exceptions: immediately after a visible win, and when your job has materially expanded.

Should I ask by email or in person?

Ask by email, make the case in person or on video, then send a short written summary. The summary matters most, because it gives your manager something to forward and records what was agreed.

What if my manager says there is no budget?

Treat it as true and move on: what would put you in the next cycle, and when is that decided. Also ask what sits outside salary, such as title, a one-off bonus, training budget or flexible hours, which often come from a different pot.

Is it risky to tell my employer I have another offer?

Only if you would genuinely accept the other job. Counteroffers can leave you flagged as a retention risk and the tactic works once. Internal evidence plus market data does the same without burning anything.

Do most people who ask for a raise actually get one?

In a LendingTree survey of full-time US workers, 82 per cent of those who asked received one. Pew Research found only three in ten asked when last hired, so the problem is silence rather than rejection.

Disclaimer

Pay figures quoted here come from published employer surveys and reflect US averages, so your sector, country and employer may differ considerably. This is general career guidance and not legal, financial or employment advice. Check your own contract and local employment law before acting on anything here.