Inclusion of Inflation-adjusted Metric to Payouts in Scheme to Retain Nurses

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Health in relation to the new long-term retention scheme for nurses, whether the Ministry will consider an inflation-adjusted metric for the payouts over the course of their careers with the public healthcare service.

My response will also cover the matters raised in the oral question by Mr Xie Yao Quan for a subsequent Sitting. [Please refer to "Savings Scheme to Pool Undisbursed Payouts from Nurses Retention Scheme", Official Report, 5 March 2024, Vol 95, Issue 130, Oral Answers to Questions section.]

The ANGEL scheme will be funded through employer’s contributions for each year that a nurse remains in service. However, unlike that for uniformed SAF officers, ANGEL is not designed as a long-term savings scheme where payout is awarded only when the officer retires. Instead, it is a retention scheme, where typically $100,000 will be awarded to nurses over four regular payout milestones across a 20-year service period up to prevailing retirement age. Hence, while the funds are centrally managed through the Ministry of Health, there is a limit to which the deposits can be deployed for investments for a long horizon.

MOH will continue to regularly monitor and review the competitiveness of nursing salaries in the public healthcare system, including the quantum of annual ANGEL deposits, to ensure that the package as a whole remains competitive.