Post GE 2011 Discussion
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Subject: Pensions of our ministers
DO MINISTERS RECEIVE 50% OF THEIR LAST-DRAWN PAY FOR LIFE?
You friend is wrong about 50%. It is actually as high as 2/3rds. The Parliamentary Pensions Act provides that "office holders" (which means "Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Speaker, Senior Minister, Minister, Senior Minister of State, Minister of State, Mayor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Parliamentary Secretary or Political Secretary"). If you closed your eyes and threw a stone in Parliament House during a Parliamentary sitting - assuming if, and it is a big if, that everyone attends (which is never the case. Parliamentary sittings are lucky if 50% of MPs attend!) you will hit at least 1 or perhaps 2 with the stone ricocheting PAP chaps entitled to pensions.
Anyhow, back to your question. The Act has a formula for payment of the amount of pension. You start with a numerator of 8 (meaning 8 years of service as office holder) and add 1 for every year of service after that. You divide this number by a fixed denominator of 27, and you stop when the number hits 2/3rds, which means that anyone who has 18 years service will hit maximum pension. The amount that is due to him FOR LIFE is found at section 4:
4(2) The annual amount of pension payable to an office-holding Member shall be —
(a) in respect of every completed year of reckonable service in any office, or where he has served in more than one office in each office, at the rate of one-twenty-seventh (1/27) of his annual salary in that office; and
(b) in respect of any remaining uncompleted year of reckonable service in any office, or where he has served in more than one office in each office, at the rate of one-three-hundred and twenty-fourth (1/324) part of his annual salary for each completed month of reckonable service in that office.
(2A) The annual pension payable to any office-holding Member under subsection (2) shall not exceed two-thirds of the highest annual salary of any office held by him.
(3) Subject to sections 13 and 15, a pension granted under this section shall continue for the life of the person to whom it is payable but shall not be payable in respect of any period during which he is again an office-holding Member; at the end of that period the pension shall again be payable and shall be re-computed with the addition of that period to the period of his former reckonable service as an office-holding Member.
(4) For the purposes of subsections (2) and (2A), “annual salary”, in relation to any office, means the annual equivalent of the highest monthly rate of salary (excluding any non-pensionable allowances) received by an office-holding Member during any period of reckonable service as a holder of that office.
Astonishing, isn’t it that the pension is payable based on the "Highest annual salary of any office held by him" and "highest monthly rate of salary". So, it doesn’t matter that the MP was a low ranking parliamentary secretary for 17 years, and then became a multi-million $ minister for 1 year. His pension will be based on 2/3rds of his salary as a minister, as that is his highest annual salary of any office held by him. So, it also doesn’t matter that there are occasional reductions in salary during recessions, since their pension is based on their highest annual salary.
On this basis, SM / PM / MM will get 2/3rd x $3 million for the rest of their lives. I understand that if they are eligible for pension and they are still serving, they get both salary plus pension concurrently. (see section 5).
Or did I forget to tell you that pensions are exempt from income tax? This is stated in the Income Tax Act!
It gets better. The Act says that the pension can be commutated. This means that it is paid in 1 lump sum instead of monthly payments for life. The lump sum is equivalent to 175.14 months of pension, i.e. 14.6 years of pension. It doesn’t matter that the minister asks for it because he has terminal cancer and has 3 months to live. He will get 14.6 years of pension paid to him in 1 go, and it will be tax free. If MM’s pension is based on 2.5 million (conservative estimate), his commutated pension is $36.5 million. Can buy a GCB with it, without any bank loan!
This is a real scandal. I was horrified when Goh Chok Tong proposed recently that ministers serve 8 years only, and new ones come in. It means that the pool of multi-million dollar pension earners will get bigger and bigger! It will add to the financial burden of future generations of Singaporeans having to pay for the pensions of people who have already been paid too much during their terms of office.
Who in the private sector is entitled to pension? And yet the ministers, etc are collecting tax free pensions on top of their world’s highest salaries. Now you know why George Yeo is fighting so hard to keep his job as minister.
Incidentally, all Admin Service officers, Sr Police & Military Officers and High Court Judges are still entitled to pensions in the same manner. No one else in the Civil Service gets pensions.
Best Regards"
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Received the above text fr my fren. -
DesertWind:
Well, this is totally expected. And she's not the 1st to get a promotion after becoming an MP. Some MPs get jobs in areas that they have never been in previously because companies value their connections and their public profile.
No, why not? Although I am quite sick of this TPL issue, since people are still on it, I just add in my 2-cents worth again.
Put yourself into EY's shoes, one of your employees is a nominated MP at a huge GRC. You still peg her at associate level. What would people think of you? Dunnoo how to spot a talent that's what! So it is not inconceivable that EY would promote this person to Director (equivalent to VP) status which is quite a high rank.
Whether you like it or not or deem fair or not is irrelevant.
:evil:
So being an MP can be a huge boost to one's career, particularly in the early stages. -
verykiasu2010:
There is no basistankee:
I do not understand on what basis some opposition parties are calling for by-election.
MM & SM are just leaving the cabinet, not the parliament. They continue to be MP of their respective GRC.
Those calls reflect their immaturity
MM and SM represented their constituents. If not for their presence, people might not have voted for them in the respective constituents. E.g. If SM had not represented MP, and more so with the less popular TPL in the team, there is a chance they might have lost to NSP... -
rosemummy:
On the contrary, there are some private companies (at least one that I know of) that will require their staff to resign should they decide to become MPs. I tend to hold higher regard of these companies, instead of giving the staff a raise/promotion.
Well, this is totally expected. And she's not the 1st to get a promotion after becoming an MP. Some MPs get jobs in areas that they have never been in previously because companies value their connections and their public profile.DesertWind:
No, why not? Although I am quite sick of this TPL issue, since people are still on it, I just add in my 2-cents worth again.
Put yourself into EY's shoes, one of your employees is a nominated MP at a huge GRC. You still peg her at associate level. What would people think of you? Dunnoo how to spot a talent that's what! So it is not inconceivable that EY would promote this person to Director (equivalent to VP) status which is quite a high rank.
Whether you like it or not or deem fair or not is irrelevant.
:evil:
So being an MP can be a huge boost to one's career, particularly in the early stages. -
Hope Ms. Tin gets promoted in double quick time. She deserves it as an elected MP.
MP GRC residents voted for the PAP team. Electorate had spoken and found her with high potential.
Whether she rides on Mr. GCT is not an issue already as electorate had been given a choice. -
concern2:
There is no basisverykiasu2010:
[quote=\"tankee\"]I do not understand on what basis some opposition parties are calling for by-election.
MM & SM are just leaving the cabinet, not the parliament. They continue to be MP of their respective GRC.
Those calls reflect their immaturity
MM and SM represented their constituents. If not for their presence, people might not have voted for them in the respective constituents. E.g. If SM had not represented MP, and more so with the less popular TPL in the team, there is a chance they might have lost to NSP...[/quote]you are right that if SM Goh is not at Marine Parade GRC, the outcome may be very different.
But SM & MM are NOT resigning their member of parliament posts, they are JUST quitting cabinet. SM Goh is staying put at Marine Parade GRC. -
tankee:
Confused.... :? :?
you are right that if SM Goh is not at Marine Parade GRC, the outcome may be very different.
But SM & MM are NOT resigning their member of parliament posts, they are JUST quitting cabinet. SM Goh is staying put at Marine Parade GRC.
What's the diff between \"JUST quitting cabinet\" and \"NOT resigning their MP post\" ?? -
DaddyD,
Cabinet members form the govt leadership, eg PM, Ministers, etc.
MPs are just members representing their constituencies in parliament to represent their voices and vote, etc.
In order to be in the cabinet, one must first be an elected MP.
So, basically, now that SM and MM has stepped down from the cabinet, they are still holding on to their elected MP status.
errr...it means now GCT and LKY are of same rank as Inderjit Singh, Pritam Singh, CSM and......TPL :yikes: :yikes: :yikes: -
Edureach:
I must commend you for your superb sense of humour :siam: :siam:Hope Ms. Tin gets promoted in double quick time. She deserves it as an elected MP.
MP GRC residents voted for the PAP team. Electorate had spoken and found her with high potential.
Whether she rides on Mr. GCT is not an issue already as electorate had been given a choice.
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Daddy
you can be an MP without being a minister
Confused.... :? :?tankee:
you are right that if SM Goh is not at Marine Parade GRC, the outcome may be very different.
But SM & MM are NOT resigning their member of parliament posts, they are JUST quitting cabinet. SM Goh is staying put at Marine Parade GRC.
What's the diff between \"JUST quitting cabinet\" and \"NOT resigning their MP post\" ??
being elected as an MP does not necessarily means automatic become minister
so when MM & SM resigned from the cabinet, meaning they are not willing to be a minister anymore. however, they are still an elected MP
cabinet means the group of MP holding various positions as ministers of the various ministries, and the chief of the cabinet is the PM
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