They say it’s not about the money, money, money…
But who are we kidding? Most of the time, it is.
And if you’ve ever been to reservist, you’ll know how the only money you get is, er, a medal after completing five cycles of reservist and a watch after completing ten.
(And also money in your CPF lah, but not like you can use it right there and then.)
But that’s about to change soon (hopefully), with plans to introduce an automated make-up pay scheme and new base pay for operationally ready national servicemen (NSmen) of $1,600 a month.
This scheme will be applicable to all NSmen, no matter what rank they hold or what vocation they are from.
New Base Pay for NSmen
The new scheme was announced by Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen during the Budget debate in Parliament yesterday (2 March) and will make the process of claiming compensation during reservist much more convenient for NSmen.
Currently, NSmen have to present documents in order to prove their fixed and variable monthly income before receiving compensation.
The new initiative will mean that individuals who are unable to prove their fixed and variable monthly income, such as students, ad-hoc gig workers and those who are unemployed will be able to benefit financially as well.
Although it is still unclear as to when the initiative will begin, Dr Ng did mention that it will benefit more than 100,000 NSmen, as well as 25,000 employers, which sometimes claim the compensation on behalf of their employees.
Dr Ng explained, “This will be especially useful for those in informal employment and training.
“The base NS pay is set at $1,600 per month and pro-rated for the duration of NS call-ups.”
Functional Assessments for New Enlistees
Apart from the introduction of the new base pay, the NS review committee has other plans as well.
Lest you’re not aware, the committee, whose role is to review and improve on various parts of NS, was set up in 2020. It is chaired by the deputy secretary of the Ministry of Defence’s (MINDEF) administration and the Chief of Army.
The committee will also be rolling out “functional assessments” for new full-time national service enlistees, and these assessments will be introduced as a segment in enlistees’ pre-enlistment routine medical screening.
According to Dr Ng, these assessments will “more precisely gauge what vocation the individual is capable of performing”.
Although the committee has yet to announce what kind of assessments will be conducted and which vocations are affected, Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How mentioned previously that this is an effort from MINDEF to move away from placing enlistees into only two categories: combat-fit soldiers and non-combat fit enlistees.
This is due to the different types of technology available for the army now, and also to ensure that the army utilises recruits more efficiently in an age where there is less manpower due to falling birth rates.
As of now, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is currently carrying out trials for these assessments, allowing those who do not qualify at first to still undergo training to become transport operators.
Additionally, Dr Ng also highlighted the fact that along with the introduction of these assessments, MINDEF has also redesigned 1,000 jobs, allowing more servicemen to serve in positions that they would not qualify for in the past.
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Additional Rewards for Finishing Reservist
Er, no lah. (Hopefully) to everyone’s delight, it’s not another watch or medal.
As NS celebrates its 55th anniversary in 2022, individuals who achieve NS milestones will be rewarded with an additional $2,000 in cash.
The three milestones include:
- Finishing full-time NS
- Finishing three high-key in-camp training sessions or five reservist cycles (including two high-key in-camp training sessions)
- Completing all 10 reservist cycles
While that sounds like a great deal of money, the SAF has actually already been giving NSmen these rewards. They have done so through depositing the money into NSmen’s Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts.
But of course, getting money in cold hard cash definitely feels much better than seeing it in your CPF account, right?
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