Singapore ministerial pay to rise by up to 9% in first adjustment since 2011

Revision needed to build first-rate team as salaries have fallen further behind those of private sector and civil service, says Prime Minister Lawrence Wong

By Lim Yan Liang, Deputy News Editor, The Straits Times, 9 Sep 2026

Political office-holders will get a one-off pay increase of up to 9 per cent, as the Government accepts the recommendations of a committee convened in December 2025 to review political salaries.

This means a minister at entry-level grade MR4 getting the full adjustment will see his annual pay rise from $1.1 million to $1.2 million when the revised framework takes effect from Oct 15.

Speaking in Parliament on Sept 8, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the Government has accepted the committee’s recommendation to update the MR4 benchmark from $1.1 million to $1.8 million.

The salary range for ministers will also be widened. Beyond the one-off increase, PM Wong said, ministers’ salaries will continue to be adjusted based on performance, and that he expects most MR4 ministers to earn about $1.35 million – the lower end of the new salary range – by the end of this term of government.

The Prime Minister said he decided to act now given that ministerial salaries have fallen further behind both private sector and civil service salaries in the last 15 years.

While the gap is most obvious when compared with the private sector, even in the public service there are some senior permanent secretaries who earn more than ministers, he said.

Emphasising that good government did not come naturally to Singapore but was built deliberately over many years, PM Wong said his responsibility is to sustain the capacity for the city-state to have leadership that can plan ahead, take difficult decisions and deliver.

“It’s not just about what we pay ministers today,” he said. “It’s about whether future prime ministers will continue to have a realistic chance of persuading capable Singaporeans – from the public service, the private sector and other walks of life – to step forward and build a first-rate team to serve Singapore and Singaporeans.”

Salaries for political office-holders were last updated in 2012, with the changes backdated to 2011 when the new term of government started. Since then, successive governments had decided to hold back on further changes because of reasons such as global instability, even though the salary framework remained relevant.

In 2017, a review committee recommended an upward adjustment, but the Government decided not to make any changes considering economic uncertainties.

The next review was scheduled for 2023, but was deferred.

“We cannot affirm a framework in principle but disregard it indefinitely in practice,” said PM Wong. “Otherwise, over time, the framework loses its meaning. Restraint cannot become neglect.”

While candidates looking to enter political service will still be expected to make a meaningful sacrifice, PM Wong said, the revised salary structure will give him more room to differentiate pay according to performance, and crucially to bring in people with substantial experience from outside the Government.

This includes those already earning significantly more in the private sector, he added.

Under the framework, ministerial salaries are benchmarked to the median income of the top 1,000 earners who are Singapore citizens, with a 40 per cent discount to reflect the ethos of political service.

The top 1,000 earners include people in senior management positions such as chief executives, chief operating officers and chief financial officers; people working in the financial services such as bankers, traders and asset managers; and professionals such as lawyers, doctors and accountants.

The median top 1,000 Singaporean earner now takes home slightly over $3 million a year, noted Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing. The 40 per cent discount brings the updated MR4 reference annual salary to $1.8 million.

PM Wong said that the Government’s starting point is that good government depends on good leadership, and that institutions are only as effective as the people who lead them.

“Systems and processes matter. But they do not run themselves,” he said. “Especially at the top, the quality of leadership makes a decisive difference.”

Companies understand this very well, which is why boards spend so much time on succession planning, he noted.

PM Wong said he learnt this for himself when he was chief executive of the Energy Market Authority (EMA), and the authority was tasked with building the city-state’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. As no one in EMA had the experience to do this, he had to search widely. A candidate was eventually found, PM Wong said, but he had to offer a competitive package – far more than what he was earning as head of EMA – to bring him onboard.

“He proved his worth. He built up the LNG team from scratch, and delivered the LNG terminal safely – on time and within budget,” said PM Wong.

He noted that there are some who say ministers are different, given that the city-state already has a first-rate civil service.

But a strong civil service is no substitute for effective political leadership, said PM Wong. This is as ministers have to set the direction for their ministries, decide the priorities and make the strategic calls. “If those calls are wrong, even the best civil servants will struggle to deliver good outcomes,” he said. “They may execute well – but they will be executing in the wrong direction.”

There are also decisions that civil servants cannot and should not make, he added. These include how the costs of stronger social safety nets are shared among individuals, the community and the Government, as well as how much to tax today and how much to leave for future generations.

“These are not just technical questions. They involve choices about priorities, interests and values,” he said.

Citing the reset of family policies that he announced at the National Day Rally, PM Wong said that civil servants could review each scheme and propose improvements.

But it was political office-holders in the Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup who looked at the parenthood journey as a whole and helped shape the overall package, which included decisions on where support would make the greatest difference and how the costs could be shared.

Hence, a minister needs to have the character and commitment to serve, but also competence – the judgment, ability and leadership to do the job well, said PM Wong.

“This is where remuneration becomes relevant,” he said. “It does not determine who is capable, but it does affect whether enough capable people are prepared to step forward and take on the responsibility.”

While the challenge of assembling the best possible team to lead the country is not one that is unique to the city-state, PM Wong said Singapore has been an exception in putting together strong and stable governments.

“We have sustained these standards for so long that they can start to feel normal to Singaporeans,” he said. “But they are not normal elsewhere – and they are certainly not guaranteed here either.”

This record of good government has been achieved through deliberate choices made over decades about how Singapore’s political system should work, and one of these choices was to deal with political remuneration openly.

“We recognise that highly able people have alternatives outside politics. So, we pay political office-holders salaries that are competitive, but with a substantial discount to reflect political service,” he said.

In return, Singaporeans rightly expect much from their political leaders, including high standards of integrity, competence, and ultimately accountability to voters at the ballot box. That same broad consideration applies to MPs, who carry substantial responsibilities in Parliament and in their constituencies, he added.

PM Wong said good leadership will be even more crucial as Singapore navigates a more uncertain and troubled world. “So, let us make the right decision – to keep the path open for capable and public-spirited Singaporeans to step forward, lead and serve,” he said.

Chan said in his ministerial statement that the Government also agreed to the regular and independent review of the salary framework every five years. Between reviews, and where justified, it may also make pay adjustments within the framework. This will be exercised with responsibility and restraint, he added.

Parliament will debate the Government’s response to the salary review on Sept 10. This will allow MPs some time to consider the two ministerial statements on the matter, said Chan.

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he strongly supported PM Wong’s decision to accept the salary review committee’s recommendations and to adjust political salaries. He called it a strategic move to enable the Republic to continue fielding the strongest possible leadership team.

“The cost to the country of mediocre leadership would be vastly greater than the cost of paying political leaders properly,” Lee wrote on Facebook. “This salary revision will help keep our country in good hands for years to come. I ask all Singaporeans to support it.”

National Day Rally 2026: A Changed World. A Stronger Singapore.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announces major reset in family support

He says every Singaporean child will get almost $70,000 in direct financial help

By Ng Wei Kai, The Straits Times, 24 Aug 2026

Parents will get more childcare leave, greater financial support and pay lower preschool fees, as the country makes a fundamental shift in how it supports families.

The Government wants to support parents more consistently throughout the journey of raising their children, instead of concentrating help mainly around the birth of a child, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at his third National Day Rally.

Measures to make it easier for Singaporeans who want children to raise a family formed a key plank of PM Wong’s speech, in which he outlined other plans to equip Singapore to deal with rapid changes in technology and the global order.

These include merging several islands south of Jurong Island to create one larger island that can house new power generation infrastructure, putting in place more safeguards for tech use and adoption, and embracing integration to remain open and connected while retaining a Singaporean core.

Addressing about 1,300 guests at ITE College Central in Ang Mo Kio on Aug 23, PM Wong said that across the globe, the rules and norms that underpinned stability and prosperity for decades are being overturned.

One key reason is that the balance of power is shifting. While the US remains the world’s leading power, China has risen rapidly and is now a “peer competitor” with deep capabilities in many areas, he said.

Many middle powers are also asserting their interests more actively, with different centres jostling for influence and competing for markets, technology, and resources, he added.

The world is more contested, unstable and dangerous than before, and this is the new normal that Singapore will have to endure and survive for many years to come, PM Wong said.

The Government’s immediate priority has been to “steady the ship”, he said, citing two support packages totalling almost $2 billion that were announced in April and July to help households and businesses cope with rising costs caused by the conflict in the Middle East.

But Singapore must go beyond that and prepare for deeper changes to come, PM Wong said, as he pledged to give families greater support and confidence for the future.

He announced that every working parent will get 8 to 12 days of childcare leave, depending on the number of children aged 12 and below they have. More details will be given at a later date.

Every Singaporean child will also get nearly $70,000 in direct financial support, while full-day childcare fees will be lowered to $150 a month by 2030.

Turning to housing, PM Wong said the income ceiling for Build-to-Order (BTO) flats will be raised to $16,000, and to $18,000 for executive condominiums.

This is to ensure the vast majority of Singaporean couples will continue to have access to subsidised public housing, he said.

Families applying for their first flat will also get one additional ballot chance for every child they have or are expecting, he added.

These moves are part of the first tranche of recommendations from a workgroup that aims to reset Singapore’s approach to marriage and parenthood, PM Wong said. The workgroup, led by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, was formed in April after the nation’s total fertility rate (TFR) fell to a new low of 0.87 in 2025.

“We want every family to know: if you choose to have children, the Government will stand with you. We will provide more support, and over more years,” he said.

More measures will be shared in the coming months, including at the Government’s next Budget in 2027, he added.

PM Wong said the Government’s work does not stop with those raising young children, with more to be done for seniors, people with disabilities and singles.

“We are putting real resources behind all of these plans because supporting families and Singaporeans through every stage of life is a national priority,” he said.

Looking longer term, the Prime Minister sketched out plans spanning decades that will create more land and options for future generations of Singaporeans.

Recounting how Jurong Island was created and turned into a global energy and chemicals hub, he said Singapore plans to merge several smaller islands off its southern coast, including Pulau Semakau, Pulau Bukom and Pulau Sudong, into a new western island.

This new island can support a new generation of industries, including advanced manufacturing facilities, and accommodate new power generation infrastructure to meet Singapore’s future needs as well as defence uses, he added.

A new link will be built to connect Jurong Island to the new western island.

The Government will also explore the feasibility of building undersea tunnels to connect Pulau Tekong – which is used mainly for military training – with the mainland, and reclaim land to integrate the resort island Sentosa with nearby Pulau Brani.

PM Wong said these plans will require resources, planning and investment over many terms of government.

“Our pioneers built Jurong Island long before anyone could see what it could become,” he said. “They planned and built for our generation and now we will do so for the generations that follow.”

He also set out how Singapore will deal with accelerating technological change.

The country has to guard against risks that are harder to predict, he said, citing developments like a recent case where an AI agent broke into a company’s systems.

PM Wong said Singapore will do its part to bring countries and companies together, and build coalitions around practical safeguards. It will also take action at home, he added.

To shield young social media users, social media platforms will be required to put in place robust and reliable checks so that the minimum age to use them – 13 for most platforms – is properly set and enforced, PM Wong said.

For teenagers above 13, the Government’s immediate priority is to make social media safer by design, he added.

It will require stronger safeguards for young users against features that keep them endlessly scrolling, clicking and coming back for more.

If a platform’s safeguards remain inadequate, the Government will consider additional restrictions – including raising the minimum age for access to that platform beyond 13, he said.

Turning to immigration and the need for Singapore to remain open, PM Wong gave assurances that the Government will ensure Singaporeans remain the “majority in our own country”.

Even as more is done to support families, Singapore must be realistic that its TFR will still likely fall “far short” of the replacement rate, PM Wong said. The rate, where a population is reproducing enough to replace itself, is around 2.1.

He noted that for many years, Singapore has supplemented its population by welcoming new citizens.

The Government’s aim is to refresh the citizen population at a measured and sustainable pace, he said.

While it welcomes foreign manpower to complement the local workforce and support the economy, it will do so in a careful and controlled way, he added.

This means that Singapore’s overall population and labour force will grow more slowly in the coming years.

While businesses often ask the Government to ease foreign worker policies, especially in the services sector, PM Wong said even a modest easing could lead to a significant increase in the number of workers. “That’s not the path we want to take. So we have to adapt to these realities,” he added.

Going forward, more of Singapore’s growth must come from technology and productivity – and from enabling every Singaporean to realise their full potential, he said.

PM Wong also said the Government will continue to broadly maintain Singapore’s current ethnic balance, even as it stays open.

“Singaporeans must feel that the Singapore we know and cherish will endure,” he said.

At the same time, it will keep working at integration. Newcomers must make every effort to fit in, and Singaporeans must also reach out with open hearts, he added.

Concluding, PM Wong said the years ahead will test the country in new ways, and it can choose how it responds.

“We face challenges with courage and grit. We adapt instead of standing still. We stand together instead of turning on one another. That is who we are.”