The salaries of Singapore’s political office holders are known to be high, much higher than the median income of Singaporeans, which is $5,775 per month.
For the first time in 15 years, those salaries are changing. On 8 September 2026, the government accepted the recommendations of an independent review committee chaired by Mr Gan Seow Kee. The changes take effect on 15 October 2026.
Here is the part that is easy to get wrong. The benchmark salary of an entry-level minister has been updated from $1.1 million to $1.8 million a year, and every other grade is pegged to it. But sitting office holders are not moving to that benchmark in one step. They receive a one-off increase of up to 9 per cent first, and move towards the new benchmark only gradually over time.
The current framework has stayed the same since 2012, when it was first put in place (backdated to 2011). A 2017 review recommended raising salaries in line with the benchmark, but the government of the day chose not to. A further review was held back in 2023. The committee behind the latest changes was convened in December 2025 and submitted its report in April 2026.
Let’s look at what each office holder earns now, and what they will earn from 15 October 2026.
Note: All figures are in Singapore dollars (SGD).
Salaries of the President, Prime Minister, Ministers & MPs in Singapore (Summary)
- The benchmark salary of an entry-level minister (MR4) rises from $1,100,000 to $1,800,000 a year. Sitting ministers receive a one-off increase of up to 9 per cent first, taking an MR4 minister to about $1,200,000 from 15 October 2026.
- The prime minister’s benchmark salary rises from $2,200,000 to $3,600,000 a year, twice that of an entry-level minister. The sitting prime minister receives only the one-off adjustment of up to 9 per cent for now.
- The president’s salary is fully adjusted from $1,540,000 to $2,520,000 a year.
- An elected member of parliament (MP) sees their allowance rise from $192,500 to $259,000 a year ($13,750 to $18,500 a month).
SIDE NOTE
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Why Some Reports Say 9% and Others Say 64%
Both numbers are correct, but they describe different things.
The 64 per cent figure is the jump in the benchmark. The prime minister’s reference salary, for example, rises from $2.2 million to $3.6 million, which works out to about 64 per cent. This benchmark sets the framework, but it is not what any sitting office holder is paid on day one.
The 9 per cent figure is the actual increase existing office holders receive from 15 October 2026. It is a one-off adjustment of up to 9 per cent, and the full 9 per cent is not automatic. How much each person gets depends on their individual circumstances, including performance and when their salary was last adjusted. An MR4 minister on $1.1 million, for instance, rises by about $100,000 to roughly $1.2 million.
So the benchmark has been reset upward, but existing office holders move towards it gradually rather than all at once. Statutory office holders (the president, the Speaker, and the Deputy Speaker) are the exception, as their salaries are fully adjusted to the new framework straight away.
The Salaries of Ministers in Singapore
The benchmark salary of an entry-level minister (MR4) has been updated from $1,100,000 to $1,800,000 per year (including bonuses). Spread over the 15 years since salaries were last set, that works out to an average increase of about 3.6 per cent a year, which is slower than the wage growth of the median Singaporean worker (about 4.3 per cent) over the same period.
How is the benchmark determined? It is still based on the median income of the 1,000 highest-earning Singapore citizens, with a 40 per cent discount to reflect the ethos of political service. The committee reviewed this formula and kept it.
About 65 per cent of a minister’s package is fixed pay, and the remaining 35 per cent is variable. The variable portion is made up of an annual variable component, an individual performance bonus, and a national bonus of up to six months, so the total depends on both individual performance and how the country does.
The salary of an MR4 minister matters because the salaries of other political appointment holders are set in ratio to it, to reflect their different roles and responsibilities. Here are the benchmark salaries under the updated framework, alongside the previous figures:
| Grade | New Benchmark Salary | Previous Salary | Ratio to MR4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister | $3,600,000 | $2,200,000 | 2.00 |
| Deputy Prime Minister | $3,060,000 | $1,870,000 | 1.70 |
| MR1 Minister | $2,880,000 | $1,760,000 | 1.60 |
| MR2 & MR3 Minister (now merged) | $2,340,000 | $1,540,000 / $1,320,000 | 1.30 |
| MR4 Minister | $1,800,000 | $1,100,000 | 1.00 |
| Senior Minister of State | $1,530,000 | $935,000 | 0.85 |
| Minister of State | $1,260,000 | $770,000 | 0.70 |
| Mayor, Senior Parl Sec & Parl Sec (now merged) | $810,000 | $660,000 / $572,000 / $418,000 | 0.45 |
Note: These are the benchmark reference salaries under the updated framework. Existing office holders are not paid these figures in full yet, as they receive the one-off increase of up to 9 per cent first and move towards the benchmark over time.
Two structural changes came with this review. The MR2 and MR3 grades have been merged into a single grade pegged at 1.3 times the MR4 salary. The Mayor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, and Parliamentary Secretary roles have also been merged, pegged at 0.45 times the MR4 salary. On top of that, the salary range for each grade has been widened to between 75 and 125 per cent of the reference salary (70 to 130 per cent for the merged Mayor grade), which gives the prime minister more room to place a new office holder lower in the range or an experienced one higher.
Ministers may hold several appointments, but they only receive one pay package. And because they hold dual roles, they draw their ministerial salary on top of their MP allowance (now $259,000 per year).
The Salary of Singapore’s Prime Minister
The benchmark salary of the prime minister of Singapore has been updated from $2,200,000 to $3,600,000 per year (including bonuses). This is twice that of an entry-level minister.
Unlike other ministers, there is no one to evaluate the prime minister’s individual performance, so the package only includes the monthly salary, 13th-month bonus, annual variable component, and national bonus.
The national bonus is based on four socio-economic indicators, weighted equally:
- Real median income growth rate of the average Singaporean
- Real income growth rate of the lowest 20th percentile of Singaporean income earners
- Unemployment rate of Singaporeans
- Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate
As with other office holders, the sitting prime minister does not jump to the new benchmark straight away. He receives only the one-off adjustment of up to 9 per cent for now. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has said he will donate the full increase in his salary to good causes for the next five years.
In Singapore, the prime minister is the head of government and serves for a term of five years. Here are the current and past prime ministers in Singapore:
| Name | Term of Office |
|---|---|
| Lee Kuan Yew | 1959 – 1990 |
| Goh Chok Tong | 1990 – 2004 |
| Lee Hsien Loong | 2004 – 2024 |
| Lawrence Wong | 2024 – Present |
QUICK CHECK
Can you answer these three questions?
1) If something happened to you tomorrow, how much would your family receive?
2) At 65, what monthly income will your savings and investments pay you?
3) If you never get round to a will, who inherits what, and in what proportion?
Most people manage one at best. Not because they're careless, but because nobody has shown them which order to tackle things in.
That order exists. Work through your finances in this sequence, from income and protection through to investments and estate planning.
The Salary of Singapore’s President
The salary of the president of Singapore is fully adjusted to the new framework, rising from $1,540,000 to $2,520,000 per year (including bonuses). Unlike ministers, the president is a statutory office holder and moves to the new framework straight away, through amendments to be moved in Parliament in October.
The president’s monthly salary is pegged to the prime minister’s. The president also receives the 13th-month bonus and annual variable component, but not the performance bonus nor the national bonus.
The Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Parliament are adjusted in the same way. The Speaker’s salary rises from $550,000 to $900,000 (50 per cent of the MR4 benchmark), and the Deputy Speaker’s from $82,500 to $135,000 (15 per cent of the Speaker’s salary).
The president of Singapore is the head of state and serves for a term of six years. The president doesn’t set national policies and doesn’t have direct executive responsibility for governing the country, except for a custodial role. One of the president’s main jobs is to safeguard the national reserves of Singapore (at least $1.2 trillion as of mid-2026 based on published figures).
Here are Singapore’s current and past presidents:
| Name | Term of Office |
|---|---|
| Yusof Ishak | 1965 – 1970 |
| Benjamin Sheares | 1971 – 1981 |
| Devan Nair | 1981 – 1985 |
| Wee Kim Wee | 1985 – 1993 |
| Ong Teng Cheong | 1993 – 1999 |
| S. R. Nathan | 1999 – 2011 |
| Tony Tan Keng Yam | 2011 – 2017 |
| Halimah Yacob | 2017 – 2023 |
| Tharman Shanmugaratnam | 2023 – Present |
Note: The above list doesn’t include acting presidents.
The Allowance for Members of Parliament (MPs) in Singapore
The allowance for an elected member of parliament (MP) rises from $192,500 to $259,000 per year, or from $13,750 to $18,500 a month, from 15 October 2026. The government has framed this as an update for inflation rather than a full re-pegging, and will study setting MP allowances on a basis that is no longer tied to the MR4 benchmark.
The allowances for non-constituency and nominated MPs also change:
- A non-constituency member of parliament (NCMP) now receives $77,700 per year ($5,550 a month), up from $28,900. The peg has risen from 15 to 30 per cent of an MP’s allowance, in recognition of the full voting rights NCMPs have held since 2017.
- A nominated member of parliament (NMP) now receives about $38,900 per year (around $2,775 a month), up from $28,900. The peg stays at 15 per cent of an MP’s allowance.
The Leader of the Opposition, whose allowance is set at twice that of an MP, sees it rise from $385,000 to $518,000 per year.
As MPs are elected, they hold two roles. Their community-based role is to look after the needs of their constituents and raise their concerns in parliament. Their legislative role allows them to influence decisions on government budgets and enact or amend legislation.
NCMPs and NMPs don’t have constituents, so they don’t have a community role, which is why their allowances are lower than an elected MP’s.
Ministers earn their ministerial salaries on top of their MP allowance. For MPs who aren’t ministers or don’t hold other appointments, they can still hold full-time jobs.
Why Are Singapore’s Politicians Paid So Much?
Singapore’s politicians are among the highest paid in the world.
Is there a reason for this?
According to the Public Service Division (PSD), the government looks for people with a strong sense of public service, but knows that alone might not be enough to run a country well. There are other qualities it looks for, such as organisational and leadership capabilities, the capacity to handle multiple responsibilities, and the ability to take charge in a crisis. Those in the top 1,000 earners tend to have a reasonable level of those qualities, which is why ministerial salaries are benchmarked to that group, with a 40 per cent discount.
The 2026 review committee kept the three core principles that have underpinned the framework since 2012. Salaries should take reference from the market so that capable people are not deterred from serving (calibre), include a meaningful discount to reflect the ethos of service (commitment), and be a clean wage with no hidden perks (clean).
On that last point, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has previously said that ministers earn a clean wage, meaning the salary is the only remuneration they receive. There are no hidden perks or pensions that come with the job, and this was reaffirmed in the latest review.
What’s Next?
So what happens from here? Having accepted the committee’s recommendations, the government has said it will review political salaries independently every five years, and may make smaller adjustments within the framework in between where these are justified. The updated national bonus targets, which tie part of the salary to outcomes like income growth and unemployment, take effect from 1 January 2027.
The government has estimated the changes will cost about $5 million a year if the full 9 per cent adjustment applies to every political appointment holder, and about $6.6 million a year for all MPs.
In my opinion, Singaporeans tend to be practical, and always want to compare what they have with what’s out there. Even with a strong sense of public service, there can be a nagging feeling of being under-paid compared to what could be earned elsewhere. So to attract top talent, competitive pay has to be offered, or potential candidates could simply stay in the private sector.
And once someone enters public service, life isn’t the same anymore, because of the added scrutiny, especially out in public.
It does take a certain someone to be competent and strive for the greater good of Singapore, yet accept being judged constantly.
While the salaries of others can be interesting to know, your income matters the most. You should always try to increase it by upgrading yourself for the betterment of your career, getting better returns from surplus cash through investments, and protecting your income and assets through the use of insurance (such as term insurance, whole life insurance, and more).
BEFORE YOU GO
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