SINGAPORE: A Singaporean millennial recently took to social media to express how “discouraged” he felt after realising that almost everyone around him appears to be earning salaries close to S$10,000 a month.
In a post on the r/askSingapore subreddit, he described how his perception of income was shaped largely by his upbringing. Growing up in a lower-middle-income household, he said that for most of his life, he considered S$5,000 a month to be “a big thing” and “the kind of pay a middle-class professional or mid-level manager would earn.”
His reference point came from his childhood. His father, he shared, earned around that amount “in the late 90s to early 2000s,” reinforcing the idea that a S$5,000 salary represented comfortable stability. So when he entered the workforce in the mid-2010s, starting at S$1,800 and eventually reaching around S$3,800 after two years, he felt he was on the right track.
According to him, this progression seemed reasonable because, in his mind, S$5,000 was still “the benchmark.”
However, the reality he sees today feels jarringly different. “I am seeing everyone earning $10k like it is nothing, as though S$10k is the new S$5k for middle-income earners… It just feels discouraging,” he said.
“What are your thoughts? Is S$10k the new S$5k? What is the middle-income salary these days? Just to clarify, I obviously know all these are the effects of inflation. I am just stating that S$10k seems to be the new standard these days. Just like how we had 5C in the past, and now it has changed.”
“I don’t know anyone around me earning that much.”
His post drew strong reactions from fellow Singaporeans. Many urged him not to take every claim at face value, pointing out that people often exaggerate their earnings to appear more successful than they actually are.
One individual shared, “A relative of mine said that their child is earning 5 digits now. They also previously said that another child of theirs was earning 5 digits without a degree, but they went to jail instead. Believe the words of others with a pinch of salt.”
There were also users who encouraged him to rely on actual data rather than hearsay. They advised him to check Singapore’s median wage statistics before concluding that five-figure salaries have become the norm.
One wrote, “Just check out median wage stats instead of asking for opinions.
Another said, “Who do you know is earning S$10k? Friend? Cousin? I don’t know anyone around me earning that much.”
A smaller group, however, agreed that the income of middle-income households has risen noticeably. One remarked, “Yes. S$10k is the new S$5k. And tomorrow, S$15k will be the new S$3k. Good luck to the Gen Z/Alphas.”
Another added, “Calculating for inflation, S$5k in 1995 is S$8k now. Your dad is pretty close to S$10k. So you’re not wrong; you just did not update for the current times.”
Median income in Singapore
Smartwealth’s findings show that the median income in Singapore, including employer CPF contributions, is S$5,500 per month or S$66,000 per year, equivalent to about US$4,074 per month or US$48,888 per year. Excluding employer CPF contributions, the median falls to S$4,860 per month or S$58,320 per year.
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