Daily Lessons from Life 26 March 2012 - National Bonus for political office holders

"National Bonus for political office holders - CNA 26 March 2012

SINGAPORE: Ministers and other political appointment holders, from Parliamentary Secretary to Deputy Prime Minister, will get a pro-rated National Bonus of 1.618 months in March.

The National Bonus, which replaces the GDP bonus, was a recommendation of the White Paper on "Salaries for a Capable and Committed Government" that was endorsed by Parliament in January 2012.

Based on the approved formula, the 2011 National Bonus is 2.625 months, but since the new salaries took effect on 21 May 2011, the pro-rated amount will be 1.618 months.

The Public Service Division announced this on Monday.

All political appointment holders (Parliamentary Secretary to Deputy Prime Minister) will get the same National Bonus rate to reflect their joint contributions as part of the Cabinet. The Prime Minister will get twice the rate as he does not get a performance bonus.

The National Bonus provides a direct link between the salaries of political appointment holders and the socio-economic progress of average- and lower-income Singapore citizens and the growth of Singapore.

The National Bonus is based on four socio-economic indicators with each accounting for 25 percent of the payout. The payout matrix is tabled below. The payout ranges from zero to six months and political appointment holders will get three months if the targets for the indicators are met.

The annual salary (S) of political appointment holders is made up of a fixed pay component (F) and a variable pay component (V), that is S=F+V. The amount in F is equal to 13 months of his monthly salary. V comprises the annual variable component (AVC), performance bonus and National Bonus. The total AVC paid for 2011 is 1.25 months plus S$250. The performance bonus is decided by the Prime Minister and ranges from zero to six months, with a good performer getting three months."

Congratulation to the National Leaders for their 1.618 months National Bonuses earned.

Lessons for me are:

1. what does this means to them personally? does it make them feel appreciated? work harder? what? It will be interesting to learn so that the country can set some National Standard about 'what bonuses mean to Singaporean?'!;

2. how will they spend this National Bonuses assuming that the Fixed part of their compensation package would be enough to provide them with above average SIMPLE but GOOD QUALITY of Life living in Singapore? Will they buy another fancy car or bungalows or another Paris Cooking Class or a 600+ Sq Ft apartment as investment? Again, it would be interesting to learn from them so that the country can set another National Standard about 'the appropriate and decent way to spend your bounses.'!;

3. Singapore has focused way too long and way too much on paying 'top dollar for top talent otherwise they won't want to serve the nation' and there will NOT be a mindset change if we continue to focus on this 'theory'. While we do not want to deny our most talented to serve, we also want to have the talented people to have a strong sense of public service with a decent fixed pay without having to rely on the variable components to pay their utilities or food bill! If we don't focus on this, we will continue to have 'talented people not coming forward to serve'. Just as simple as that!!

Congratulation again to the political leaders. Now, will someone compute how many times (X) is their national bonuses equal to the lowest paid productive workers in Singapore?