Increased Cash Payments and Base Pay for NSFs and NSmen from April 1, 2024
SINGAPORE: Starting on April 1, 2024, all full-time National Servicemen (NSFs) will receive a bonus S$1,000 after reaching their operationally ready date (ORD), the first key milestone in their National Service journey. They will also be entitled to an extra S$500 after completing three high-key in-camp training (ICT) sessions and another S$500 upon completing the entire operationally ready national service (ORNS) training cycle.
“The NS HOME cash payment is designed to better recognise the valuable contributions of our servicemen to national defence,” the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) explained in a statement released on Thursday, March 3.
Currently, non-commanders receive a S$3,000 contribution to their Post-Secondary Education Account or CPF Ordinary Account, along with an additional S$2,000 for their CPF Medisave Account after completing each training milestone. The updated payment system ensures that servicemen will now receive at least S$6,000 upon completing full-time National Service, with a minimum of S$5,500 at the mid-point and upon completion of their ORNS cycle.
This change will benefit 54,000 servicemen from both the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Home Team annually, according to Senior Minister of State for Defence, Heng Chee How.
The cash payments will be processed through the LifeSG mobile application, providing servicemen with the flexibility to use the funds for immediate needs at any of the 164,000 merchants accepting PayNow.
This initiative was a recommendation from the NS Review Committee, which was formed in 2020 to enhance the NS experience and will conclude this year. Alongside this, SAF operationally ready national servicemen (NSmen) will receive a monthly base pay of S$1,600 for reservist duties, irrespective of their employment status. This amount will be pro-rated based on the length of the reservist activity.
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen highlighted that this change would significantly assist those in informal or training employment. The new policy will automatically compute the make-up pay, based on data from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) and CPF Board, to ensure that over 100,000 NSmen and 25,000 employers benefit from these updates.
Additionally, as of 2023, MINDEF and the Ministry of Home Affairs will increase the core insurance coverage for all NSmen to S$300,000 each for Group Term Life and Group Personal Accident insurance, ensuring adequate financial protection.
In further efforts to streamline services, MINDEF is launching the OneNS platform, consolidating all NS-related digital services and transactions into one accessible application or revamped web portal. This platform aims to enhance call-up and deferment services, with more e-services being introduced progressively.
In the realm of safety, MINDEF announced the establishment of the Heat Resilience and Performance Centre at the National University of Singapore, to address the rising risk of heat injuries, particularly in light of climate change. New safety technologies, including artificial intelligence and data analytics, will be employed to improve safety protocols and predict potential safety risks in the SAF’s training and operations.
