In Parliament: Ministerial salaries to rise by up to 9% to S$1.2 million by Oct 15

SINGAPORE: On Tuesday (Sep 8), Prime Minister (PM) Lawrence Wong announced a salary increase for political office holders of as much as 9% beginning on Oct 15. For ministers in the lowest tier, it would mean an annual salary of around S$1.2 million.

It is the first increase in ministerial salaries since 2011, and he noted how ministerial salaries have fallen behind those in the private sector and civil service in the past 15 years, adding that some senior permanent secretaries now have higher salaries than ministers.

PM Wong announced this as he delivered the government’s response to an independent review committee that had recommended that the benchmark salary of a minister at the lowest tier, the MR4 grade, increase from S$1.1 million to S$1.8 million.

Increases to other political salaries, the allowances of MPs and other parliamentarians, and adjustments to the president’s, parliamentary speaker’s and deputy speakers’ salaries, based on the committee’s recommendations, will also be made starting Oct 15.

The Prime Minister clarified that instead of moving at once to new salary benchmarks, the government is making a one-off adjustment of up to 9% for political office holders, though the same increase does not apply to all.

“The adjustment for each officeholder will depend on individual circumstances, including performance and when his or her salary was last adjusted,” he said.

He also underlined that the salary increases are about the future of Singapore, whether Prime Ministers in the future will “continue to have a realistic chance of persuading capable Singaporeans… to step forward and build a first-rate team for Singapore.” 

In his speech, Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing echoed the same sentiments, saying that Singapore needs to balance the ethos of political service with ensuring that the pool of Singaporeans who can fulfil such duties remains wide.

He said, “We want to be able to say to capable Singaporeans, ‘Singapore needs you, and while political service involves sacrifices, it will not come at an unreasonable cost to you and your family’.”

The minister added that upholding a system that ensures that capable Singaporeans step up to political service is “how we do right by Singapore.

He thanked the review committee, which had convened last December, and which included members of the private sector, acknowledging that their task had not been an easy one. /TISG

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