Singapore to study delinking MP allowances from ministerial salary benchmark

Singapore is conducting a study to determine a new framework for determining allowances for Members of Parliament (MPs) and mayors that is not tied to the entry-level ministerial salary benchmark, according to Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing. The review committee recommended this change as considerations for community roles such as MPs and mayors may vary from those of full-time political office holders.

Despite the ongoing study, the government has decided to increase MP allowances to S$18,500 a month, up from S$13,750, to account for inflation. This adjustment is consistent with the government's 2012 assessment that the MP allowance level was appropriate at the time. Additionally, the allowance for Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) will be raised from 15% to 30% of an MP's annual allowance, translating to S$5,550 a month, reflecting their full voting rights since 2017.

These revised allowances will become effective from October 15. The government will also study the current peg for the salaries of the president, speaker, and deputy speaker to determine if these packages should be better aligned with the MR4 benchmark salary used for other political office holders.