This article was in Singapore's Today newspaper this morning. Info about salaries of folks with poly diplomas.

Also a pdf file which contains a current report on Singapore's labour force. Very enlightening as it give good info on the sectors and attributes of workers.

There's one page on avg salaries by job type (eg. mgr, professional, clerical etc. etc.)

This post has been edited by seantang: Feb 6 2007, 08:23 PM


Attached thumbnail(s)


Attached File(s)
 20070126985.pdf ( 225.68k ) Number of downloads: 148

Isn't your friend forgetting about the tiny matter of taxation in China?

Tax on foreigners is very, very heavy. Unless that RM13,000 is Net Salary after tax... your friend's not going to save RM8000 a month (after paying for a RM2000 gf).

In any case, SS BBs in MNCs earn salaries of about S$7000-10000 and that's about RM16,000 to 23,000. More than enough to offset the higher std of living and still come out better.

Actually Master BBs and Champions get paid more, much more.

Only PRs and citizens contribute towards CPF. For foreigners, they can withdraw their CPF if they renounce their PR and leave Singapore permanently. I'm not sure if West Malaysians are still excluded from this.

Updated:

From: http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/Members/Gen-Info/Sch-Svc/S-and-S.htm

"You can also withdraw your CPF savings if you leave Singapore and West Malaysia permanently or become permanently incapacitated."

---

Added on February 24, 2007, 2:53 amFrom the same site:

2. What type of properties can I buy under the scheme?

You can buy residential properties in Singapore that are built on freehold or leasehold land with a remaining lease of at least 30 years. However, the remaining lease must last you up to at least 80 years old.





This post has been edited by seantang: Feb 24 2007, 02:53 AM

Yup that's the unfair part when it concerns Malaysians.

If you leave Singapore permanently (no PR or work permit), they should return your CPF. I reckon it's unfair they make it a condition that you have to leave Malaysia as well (??? what does this mean, give up Malaysian citizenship?)

Why should Malaysians be forced to keep their CPF money in Singapore when they leave Singapore, but other nationalities are not?

But it's not all gloom and doom. You can always withdraw your CPF and buy a private condo in Singapore. Over the long term, they'll appreciate like crazy as the island's population grows. And one thing the CPF has over our EPF... the CPF is not running on fumes (cashflow). Unlike the EPF, the CPF has not spent all our money supporting GLCs and funding the govt's cronies and it will not collapse if one day, its cash inflows becomes less than its cash outflows.

This post has been edited by seantang: Feb 24 2007, 01:25 PM

Singapore has lower effective tax rates than Malaysia.

---

Added on March 30, 2007, 11:10 pmThat's actually POSB (Post Office Savings Bank). And it merged with DBS Bank some years back. So you can open an account with DBS or POSB, it's the same.


This post has been edited by seantang: Mar 30 2007, 11:10 PM

If you're looking for work in Sg, then the Sg chapters of jobstreet and jobsdb are pretty good. Caters to most levels, ie. fresh to 10+ years of experience for most industries and professions. I like jobsdb better because many of the jobs ads also show the salary range offered. This is useful to filter out jobs vacancies with important sounding titles but low salary.

sg.jobstreet.com
www.jobsdb.com/SG/

If you are in the finance industry (esp. banking and insurance), you might be interested in efinancialcareers. It's more for experienced financial professionals, with jobs usually starting from S$60K per annum upwards. Some mid-level bank jobs (ie. AVPs) are advertised here as well ($140-180K p.a.).

efinancialcareers.sg

If you're looking for something above $100K p.a. in a MNC etc. you'd probably get much better info and response by sending your resume to a recruitment firm.

But yes, most employers advertising professional jobs are looking for Singaporeans or PRs only, except for the factories and call centres, outsourcing service centres etc.

PR is better than Work Permit (WP) for the simple fact that employers are only required to pay CPF for PRs, not WPs. Therefore your total income package is immediately 14.5% higher (employer contribution), unless the WP's employer is willing to top up the salary with 14.5% to represent the CPF that WPs don't get. But do note there is a cap on employer contribution but I can't remember right now. I've only heard of one WP whose employer is willing to do that. And he was in a fairly high level job (~S$240K p.a.) too, so he's got a fair bit of negotiation power.

On the other hand, PRs need to contribute CPF at 20% on gross salary up to a cap of S$900 contributed each month. And as West Malaysians, you cannot withdraw your CPF until you're 55, even if you give up your PR. The only exception is if you are no longer domiciled in West Malaysia ie. you have a PR in another country or move to East Malaysia. No other nationality is subjected to this archaic ruling. Having said that, you can always withdraw your CPF to buy a private condo in Singapore and watch your investment grow and grow as Singapore becomes more and more crowded.

If you're looking for a place to stay, I find flatsdb to be a great site. Most if not all ads state the rental asked (which is really useful if you don't want to waste time calling all the agents/owners to ask how much rent) and walking time to MRT. You can also select to search for entire flats (private condo or HDB) or rooms. Currently, do allocate ~S$600 for a master bedroom (with attached toilet) or S$1300 for a fully furnished one bedroom or older/smaller two bedroom HDB flat - in a nearer to town suburb (eg. 15-30 minutes MRT ride to city). Non-hdb condos (with facilities like pool, gym etc) are now at least S$2500 or more, much more also got. House etc... if you can afford that, you'd probably won't need to ask questions in LYN lah.

flatsdb.com.sg

This post has been edited by seantang: Dec 30 2007, 01:31 PM

I guess you can try to apply for jobs while you're over there on vacation. But why wait till you're actually there?

Just send in your applications early, and state on your application when you'll be in Singapore so that any interviews can be scheduled during the period.

Ummm... I don't think Malaysians need any permits to visit Singapore. So, if you find work in Sg, there are really no permits to 'change'. Your new employer simply needs to apply for a WP for you. It's quite a fast process. Mine took only a couple of days. I managed to apply for and get a WP, and then use the newly issued work permit to open a bank account and lease a flat within a 4 day house-hunting trip.

Grant & Thornton?

Your friend might beright. My employment pass was done by my company, so they have all my details on record and could have submitted the application earlier online without needing my participation. In any case, I only signed the forms when I arrived for that trip and relinquished my passport to the HR folks for 2 days.

Travel to Sg by coach is around RM45 from KL I think. I usually take mine from Ipoh which is RM60. It's roughly 5 hours from KL, including going through immigration. This should be the cheapest.

Fastest probably flying. But before the budget flights in Feb, it'll be the most costly by far as well.

Train from KL Sentral to Sg... ya lah. That's KTM. It takes anything from 7 to 10 hours depending on whether they stop for abnormally long periods at each town.

Already mentioned in my first post. CPF applies only if you are PR. So, if PR, you pay 20%, employer pays 14.5%.

That's an opt-in scheme for new PRs. The cost of more cash on hand is reduced employer compulsory contributions. However, most MNCs will still contribute the normal 14.5% even if you choose this scheme.

---

Added on December 31, 2007, 10:09 am
Yeah, my company transferred me here from KL 3 years ago.


This post has been edited by seantang: Dec 31 2007, 10:09 AM

Reasonable?... should be kua... try going to a few of Singapore govt websites (like the Police or Economic Development Board etc) and look at their salaries offered under the careers section. They should be a little lower than the MNCs.

Is it okay to live on such a salary? Well... hundreds of Seagate operators get around $800-$1000 a month and they manage. Bus drivers (they are called bus captains) get $2500 a month and they own a HDB flat and feed a family.

If you do the rented room thing ($300-600), MRT/bus thing ($100) and foodcourt thing ($5 per meal ie. $450), you should have plenty.

But if you like a whole flat in a prime area (from $1200-1800 for HDB flat to $5000 a month for a serviced studio apartment near Orchard Rd), taxis ($15 per 10 minute trip into Orchard Rd during peak using CTE hwy inclusive of $6 ERP toll and peak surcharge x 2 x 30days = $900) and restaurants ($???), how much also not enough.

So, it really depends on your lifestyle.

If money is you only concern, then the choice is very simple to make.

Do a very basic comparative budget.

Option A: Msia.
Salary: RM3500
Tax & EPF: -RM500 (I just whack only. You need to calculate).
Expenses: -RM1000
Savings: RM2000 or SGD900

Option B: Sg.
Salary: S$3000
Tax & CPF: -S$500 (I just whack only. You need to calculate).
Expenses: -S$1000
Savings: SGD1500 or RM3300

$ for $, you're saving 65% more than you would in Malaysia.

If you're able to find a job that pays S$3500, same as the current RM3500 in Malaysia (it's quite common actually and Sg got way more higher level higher pay jobs too), AND assuming you don't go and spend that S$500 extra, you now have RM1100 more savings (total S$2000 or RM4400) ie. 120% more than the RM2000 you would have saved if you had remained in Malaysia.

Think of it this way, if you have to work in Malaysia 30 years before you can afford retire, you now have to work only 10-15 years in order to have the same amount of cash to retire on.

In addition, you will have much more money much earlier, and that earns more interest/dividends which in turn earns more interest/dividends. The time value of money and compounding interest paves the road to financial independence, my friend.

It's that simple. But as I said, this works if money is your ONLY consideration.

HDB flats start at S$150,000 for a basic 2 bedroom flat. I think home ownership amongst young adults is much higher in Sg compared to Mys.

Pre-employment checkups are usually to evaluate if you qualify for the company's health plan insurance. The results are sent not to your prospective employer, but to the insurance company providing coverage to them.

Anyway, it's very simple for you. Simply read whatever they ask you to sign lah.

Sure you can, provided that you sign a waiver and indemnity agreement with the company, in that you agree to forgo that part of the total compensation package and agree to indemnify the company with regards to all your medical issues. But most companies will simply hire you on a contract basis rather than as a permanent employee so that they do not contravene employment and anti-discrimination laws.

Most companies, MNCs at least, are bound by law and policy to not discriminate based on pre-existing medical conditions that would not reasonably impair an employee's ability to carry out his duties.

It can be quite a expensive, but can also be quite cheap. But mostly somewhere in between.

Take a budget flight lah.

I think West Malaysians can still withdraw all their CPF after the mandatory retirement age.

Currently, there is a move to automatically opt all Singaporeans and PRs into a lifelong annuity scheme.

The West Malaysian CPF restriction is a standalone clause in the CPF withdrawal rules. It's not specifically mentioned in any other CPF regulations like the annuity scheme or revised retirement age schemes. So, to me, it's still unclear how West Malaysian's CPF will be affected.

In any case, perhaps all West Malaysians with CPF stuck in Singapore should begin a class action suit against the CPF board, to get their money back.

Open an account with Maybank Malaysia and Maybank Singapore.

Then use Maybank2u.com to transfer money from the Sg account to the Malaysian one. It costs S$10 for each transaction (max S$10,000 per transaction). Takes 2 working days for the money to credit. Cheaper than any bank to bank TT via swift.

The other option is to also have a Maybank account in each country, and then use your ATM card to withdraw from the Sg account at a Malaysian ATM. It's S$2 per withdrawal. I can't remember the max per transaction though, but it will be a couple of K at the most.

This post has been edited by seantang: Apr 2 2008, 11:42 PM