Singapore’s prime minister is set to get a whopping 64% pay increase next month thanks to a boost in ministerial compensation.
Starting on October 15, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will see his salary increase to 3.6 million Singapore dollars – roughly the equivalent of $2.85 million USD.
Singapore already has some of the world’s highest ministerial salaries. The latest changes to political salaries are the first in 15 years.
For ministers and other political officeholders, Wong clarified that immediate adjustments will be limited to a one-off increase of up to 9%, depending on individual circumstances, including performance.
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He also pledged to donate the entire salary increase he receives to charitable causes for the next five years.
“The sums involved are more than what most citizens earn, so I understand why Singaporeans scrutinize them closely,” Wong told parliament.
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He added that while leaving pay levels frozen would have been “easier politically,” maintaining an updated system is necessary to attract capable people who might otherwise choose careers in the private sector.
Under Singapore’s executive compensation model, political salaries are benchmarked against the median earnings of the country’s top 1,000 corporate earners — with a mandatory 40% haircut to reflect public service.
Political salaries had remained unchanged since the framework was introduced in 2011. A 2017 review recommended adjustments in line with the benchmark, but the government decided not to raise salaries at the time, while a scheduled 2023 review was deferred amid economic uncertainty.
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Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing noted in a parliamentary statement that while major corporate CEOs in Singapore earn S$6 million to S$7 million annually, government salaries are not intended to match private sector levels.
“If money is your main reason for wanting to be a Minister, frankly, you are not the person we are looking for,” Chan said. “We will never be able to match the pay of all the people we hope to get…. But we cannot pretend that such opportunity costs do not exist.”
The framework features a “clean wage” structure, with no pensions or hidden perks. Compensation is structured as roughly 65% fixed pay and 35% variable pay, with the variable component reflecting both individual performance and national socioeconomic outcomes such as real GDP growth, unemployment and income growth.
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Singapore’s political salaries remain among the highest globally, structured in part to deter public sector corruption. By comparison, the U.S. president earns a set salary of $400,000 annually, the Swiss president earns roughly $606,000, and the British prime minister receives approximately $230,000.
Reuters contributed to this report.
