Singapore ministers to receive first pay rise in 15 years

Singapore: Singapore's ministers, who are among the world's highest-paid government officials, will receive their first salary increase in 15 years under a revised remuneration framework announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Addressing Parliament on Tuesday, Wong said the benchmark annual salary for a minister at the lowest grade will increase from S$1.1 million (US$868,330) to S$1.8 million (US$1.42 million). The benchmark salary for the prime minister will rise from S$2.2 million (US$1.7 million) to S$3.6 million (US$2.8 million). The increases apply to elected politicians who hold ministerial positions and are responsible for government policy, while allowances for other lawmakers will also be raised. Wong said political officeholders will not immediately move to the new salary benchmarks. Instead, they will receive a one-time adjustment of up to 9 per cent from 15 October, with actual increases linked to performance and responsibilities. He said most ministers at the lowest grade are expected to earn about S$1.35 million (US$1.06 million) by the end of the current term, with future salaries continuing to depend on performance rather than automatically reaching the benchmark level. Wong did not disclose his future salary, although a 9 per cent adjustment would raise it to approximately S$2.4 million (US$1.89 million). He said he would donate the entire increase in his salary to charity for the next five years. Political salaries have long been a sensitive issue in Singapore, where ministers earn significantly more than the average citizen and the prime minister's salary ranks among the highest for world leaders. The government has consistently argued that competitive remuneration is necessary to attract talented people from the private sector and public service while maintaining clean and effective governance. Wong said Singapore had chosen to address political pay openly, without hidden salary components or undisclosed benefits. "Good government did not come naturally to Singapore. It was built deliberately over many years. And there is nothing automatic about sustaining this," he said. He acknowledged public scrutiny of ministerial salaries but said the issue could not be avoided simply because it was politically uncomfortable. According to Wong, ministerial salaries have increasingly lagged behind comparable earnings in the private sector and civil service, making a review necessary. The framework uses the median income of Singapore's top 1,000 citizen earners as a reference point, with a 40 per cent discount applied to reflect the public-service nature of political office. The government said the new salary framework will be reviewed every five years. Singapore's current political salary structure was established after a review in 2011 and debated in Parliament in 2012. That review resulted in salary reductions of about 36 per cent following public concern over political pay. A further review in 2017 recommended changes, but those adjustments were not implemented, while a review scheduled for 2023 was deferred.