Singapore expat packages falling fast but costs still rising

Singapore is still one of the world’s most expensive cities for expat professionals, but relocation packages are falling fast.

An estimated 1.3 million expats are now struggling to make a living in Singapore, with packages admittedly on the generous side but unable to keep up with the soaring costs of housing, schooling, healthcare and the everyday costs of living. In 2017, expat packages fell by six per cent to $316,600 p.a., inclusive of salary, benefits and tax. Hong Kong is the city-state's closest rival for top jobs for top people and, although packages there fell by two per cent, they’re still at $356,800 p.a. One alleged reason for the fall in Singapore’s packages is that benefits and cash are denoted in Singaporean dollars, the value of which has fallen against the US dollar.

One UK expat, Keiran Hughes, followed his partner to Singapore after giving up his job as a professional broadcast engineer. He’d been earning the sterling equivalent of $96,000, plenty enough to pay a mortgage and buy a car, and believed he’d have no problem finding a suitable job in Singapore due to his strong professional background. He now earns just $4,000 a month, just about enough to rent his tiny apartment and cover the necessities of life. He’s renting out his three-bedroomed UK house for $1,000 a month, but considers he’s barely living.

However, recruitment firms don’t believe falling package costs will reduce the attraction of Singapore to career-minded expats, especially as it offers low tax rates and is an attractive location in which to work and live. They also believe the city-state doesn’t need to come up with premiums on top of pay to attract the right kind of expat. Global talent, they believe, is lured by the thought of working in Asia as well as other non-monetary factors, and expatriates from China and India are happy to fill all available jobs.