PM Wong explains salary changes, will continue to assess Ministers & adjust salaries based on performance

On September 8, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong acknowledged the committee's suggestions for modifying political salaries. Wong announced an immediate one-off adjustment of up to 9% for political officeholders, rather than directly implementing the new salary benchmarks. Wong clarified that this increase would not uniformly apply to everyone, as it would depend on individual circumstances such as performance and the frequency of salary adjustments.

PM Wong elaborated on how ministerial salaries are determined. There are four ministerial grades - MR4, 3, 2, and 1. Each grade has a salary range, which establishes the minister's fixed pay. Wong will determine each minister's grade, their position within the salary range for that grade, and the individual performance bonus for each year.

Currently, 10 out of 16 ministers are in the MR4 grade, while the remaining six hold higher grades due to their seniority and substantial responsibilities, including those serving as Coordinating Ministers.

Ministers have the potential to shift within salary points in each grade based on performance. The variable components, such as the National Bonus and individual performance, account for more than one-third of a minister's annual remuneration. Thus, the actual remuneration received by a minister in a particular year may be higher or lower than the reference salary, depending on their salary point and variable payouts.

The independent committee suggested further adjustments to the current structure. Wong confirmed their agreement with these recommendations, which now propose three ministerial grades instead of four, with wider salary ranges at plus or minus 25% for each grade. Wong stated that while they would retain the same approach to assessing and differentiating individual salaries, the one-off special adjustment would be followed by ongoing performance-based salary assessments.

By the end of the current term, PM Wong anticipates that most ministers in the MR4 grade will be at the lower end of the new salary range, approximately S$1.35 million. High-performing ministers may move within the range or even be promoted to a higher ministerial grade. The same policy would apply to other officeholders such as Ministers of State, Parliamentary Secretaries, and Mayors.

The revised structure provides Wong more flexibility to differentiate pay according to performance. Importantly, the structure also aims to attract capable individuals with extensive experience from outside government, particularly those already earning significantly more in the private sector. Wong emphasized that while these individuals should make a meaningful sacrifice to enter political service, the gap should not be made larger than necessary.

Good government in Singapore was deliberately built over many years, and sustaining it requires careful planning, difficult decisions, and consistent delivery, a quality that has benefited Singaporeans for over 60 years.