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Govt ministers paid an average performance bonus of 4.1 months in 2017

SINGAPORE — Political officeholders here received on average a performance bonus of 4.1 months last year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong revealed on Monday (Sept 10).

Figures given by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong showed that political officeholders of all grades, which include Cabinet ministers and ministers of state, received about four months’ performance bonus — with the highest at 4.4 months in 2015, and the lowest at 4.1 months last year.

Figures given by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong showed that political officeholders of all grades, which include Cabinet ministers and ministers of state, received about four months’ performance bonus — with the highest at 4.4 months in 2015, and the lowest at 4.1 months last year.

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SINGAPORE — Political officeholders here received on average a performance bonus of 4.1 months last year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong revealed on Monday (Sept 10).

The figure was given in a written reply to a parliamentary question by Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leon Perera, who asked about the bonus paid in the past five years to Cabinet ministers — in terms of the average total number of bonus months, as well as the highest and lowest bonus paid by the same measure.

Figures given by Mr Lee showed that political officeholders of all grades, which include Cabinet ministers and ministers of state, received about four months’ performance bonus — with the highest at 4.4 months in 2015, and the lowest at 4.1 months last year.

(Source: Prime Minister’s Office)

Last month, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong’s comments on ministerial pay sparked a debate after the matter was raised at a community dialogue session.

Mr Goh said then that ministers in political office are “not paid enough”, after a participant suggested that ministers’ salaries or the national defence budget be cut to fund support for senior citizens.

On Monday, Mr Lee reiterated that the pay components of political officeholders are set out in the White Paper titled Salaries for a Capable and Committed Government, which was tabled in Parliament in 2012.

Apart from monthly salary, the pay components include a 13th month non-pensionable annual allowance, a performance bonus, a national bonus, and an annual variable component as paid to civil servants. The benchmark salaries take all these components into account, Mr Lee said.

Benchmark salaries was introduced in 1994 to formally peg ministerial salaries to the market. Right now, the annual salary of an entry-level minister in political office is pegged to two-thirds of the 24th highest earner among a group comprising the top eight earners from six professions. The professions are bankers, accountants, engineers, lawyers, chief executive officers (CEOs) of Singapore manufacturers and CEOs of multinational corporations.

The framework for ministerial pay, last amended in 2012, was reviewed last year by a committee formed by Mr Lee.

Reporting on the review this March, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean told Parliament that the committee affirmed that the present salary structure for political officeholders, including the national bonus framework, remained sound.

STATUS QUO

Mr Lee said on Monday that while the entry ministerial grade (MR4) benchmark had increased by 9 per cent since 2011, the Government noted that this benchmark was lower last year than what was in 2016, and so decided to maintain salaries at the current level and watch salary trends further.

“That remains the position,” he added.

Performance bonus used to range from zero to 14 months, where good performers typically get nine months, but the White Paper in 2012 stated that it would be reduced along with the other variable pay quantums to “prevent large increases and decreases in salaries from year to year”.

Now, the performance bonus ranges from zero to six months, with a good performer typically getting three months’ worth.

Apart from the performance bonus, the ministerial pay package also includes a national bonus that is pegged to the four key national economic indicator targets: Real median income growth rate, real growth rate of lowest 20th percentile income, unemployment rate and the real gross domestic product growth rate.

The national bonus is capped at six months, with political officeholders getting three months if the Government meets the targets set for the indicators.

As there is no one to assess the prime minister’s performance, in lieu of a performance bonus, he gets a higher national bonus of six months if targets are met.

As for the annual variable component, which is given twice a year based on the country’s economic performance, it typically ranges between zero and 1.5 months.

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