Independent pay review bodies are reported to be preparing to recommend such an increase for teachers and around 1.3 million NHS staff, according to reports, well above the figure the government is thought to have been preparing for.
Paul Johnson, director of the influential Institute for Fiscal Studies, said he was "not terribly surprised" by the figure, which would be in line with pay rises across the economy and would cost an extra £3bn for schools and the NHS alone.
He told the BBC's Today programme: "In terms of the cost, there isn't a specific number that is budgeted for schools, it's probably 1 or 2 per cent, it's certainly nothing like 5.5 per cent, so we'd certainly be looking at at least an additional £1bn on schools' costs relative to what they're currently expecting.
"And at least double that across the NHS if the proposals for the NHS are similar, which it appears that they might be."
Mr Johnson added that if the 5.5 per cent figure was replicated across the public sector, it could mean the government needs to find an extra £10bn.
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