Crazy, Poor Expats Feel Pressure Of Lower Salary Package And Allowances

Moving out from London to become an expat in Singapore was fairly straightforward for trader Oriano Lizza. He noted how the lower tax levels make everything “considerably easier” now that he has stayed in the country for over 20 months.

Sheena Chauhan, a senior account manager from the UK who has been in Singapore for over four years, shares the same sentiment and said that whilst working hours and salary are very similar to the ones in London, the lower tax “makes an impact” on take-home pay.

However, a high cost of living undermines this benefit. Whilst Chauhan and Lizza have different careers and experiences, the two share their complaints about the cost of living in the Lion City.

Crazy, poor expats?

“The general feeling towards packages is that unless the individual is not very senior in their career, it’s the additional bolt ons, such as education and housing allowances that are either being trimmed or removed from packages all together. Some expats are being compensated in salary increases or increased bonus structures,” shared Lizza.

This was highlighted by the fact that over half or 52% of expats in Singapore are dissatisfied with the city’s cost of living, a new report by expat community InterNations revealed.

Singapore took the 50th spot amongst 72 countries for the cost of living rankings in 2018. Had it fared better, it could have taken over Taipei as the overall champion of InterNations’ list.

This issue was also reflected in other firms’ study of expat life around the globe. In June, ECA International revealed that Singapore is in the 20 most expensive cities for expats around the world.

“The price of goods and services included in our basket of goods has only seen a modest increase in Singapore over the past 12 months, in line with other similar economies in Asia,” said Lee Quane, regional director for Asia at ECA International, in June. “However, the rise in the rankings has been due to the relative strength of the Singapore dollar versus the US greenback in the past year.”