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What do you need in a salary package

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LillyP1
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What do you need in a salary package

Post by LillyP1 » Mon, 05 Aug 2013 9:39 am

Hello

My husband has been offered a position in Singapore. We live in Sydney at the moment.
Based on the salary that he has been offered we would be worse off moving as the children would need to go to International School, thus already $60K down :(
We've been told to give a wish-list: of what assistance we would like.

What percentages are considered normal for housing and schooling contributions?

Medical insurance- is that apart of the package?

Re-location costs will be inclusive, do I take it that will also cover somewhere to live while our belongs get shipped and we find somewhere to live.

What about flights back?

My husband has worked for the company for years and doesn't want to loose his severance pay options if things go wrong. Can you carry over your previous contact?

And, I have never been to Singapore, very open to it but what makes it so great?? Its sounds all so expensive.

Thanks and look forward to your sound - positive advice.

:)

Hannieroo
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Post by Hannieroo » Mon, 05 Aug 2013 10:57 am

My husband is in an industry that requires mobility so Sungapore is great because we could be posted to far worse. It's relatively safe, clean, efficient and plenty to do. The weather is fantastic. For a short term one off posting it's interesting and well placed for regional travel.

In my experience a full expat package is 100% housing, utilities, school, car and one full priced ticket home a year. Some companies allow you to use that to go anywhere. Some companies pay your tax for you, some do reciprocal agreements to bring worldwide employees to the same level, that is good if you are in Norway but not if you are here or in Dubai. A co efficient to adjust for standard of living is pretty usual but check that one before you adjust, Sydney might be more then you get adjusted down. In the old days a club membership and maid were also included but I think that's rare. So not an unreasonable amount to ask for but not always automatic.

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PNGMK
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Post by PNGMK » Mon, 05 Aug 2013 11:20 am

Be careful if you think he'll save on income tax. Unless you're truly none resident the ATO will still want it's cut and 26AG is long gone.

Hanni pretty much summed it up. For an Aussie family you can't expect not to have a drop in living standards mainly due to the small apartment sizes.... however here goes;

1. Schooling - 100% payment by the company - WHY? Because Schooling at good state schools in Australia is essentially free. If they don't pay - don't come. Seriously. It's the biggest issue for expats here and cannot be under estimated how much it can impact positively or negatively your experience.

2. Housing and Moving expenses - including 3 months in serviced accom and a minimum of 400 ft2 per person for the apartment. Anything else is very cramped. I'd suggest for you a 20ft container would be necessary to move all you need over AND back. If you buy furniture here it's a 100% loss when you leave unless you can ship it home FOC.

3. A leased car contribution of $1500 per month - why? Because it's around $2000 a month here and in Australia the same care is $500 a month lease.

4. Health insurance. Pretty much necessary as foreigners you won't have any access to Singapore's excellent subsidized health care without 100% payments and often up front.

5. Severance. Make sure you DH contract either contains continuity of service under the Australian entity or some other wording. I'd consider running this past an Australian lawyer. Also you need to think about Super -will it be paid while you're gone or 'topped up' on top of his salary while in Singapore? - that's 10% gone if it's not paid. Make sure his Long Service Leave is protected or acknowledged as well.

If you're giving up too much - don't come. If your DH employer doesn't want to do this (or most of it) don't come - nothing worse than an unprofessional expat package.

When you leave Australia consider;

1. Obtaining tax non resident status from the ATO
2. Obtaining a recess on your Australian private health care so you can resume it without penalty on your return (7 yr max I think).
3 Making sure your kids are on school enrollment lists for your return if they are going to an exclusive school.
4. Renting out your house via a property manager (don't sell if you can help it - the closing and repurchase costs are significant losses).

LillyP1
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Post by LillyP1 » Mon, 05 Aug 2013 12:49 pm

Wow, thanks ladies. I feel that we have been somewhat in the dark on the schooling front.

I guess we shall see if "they" think he's worth it!

A car wasn't even on our radar. Does everyone have cars? Or do you hire as needed?

Cheers

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Wd40
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Post by Wd40 » Mon, 05 Aug 2013 4:59 pm

LillyP1 wrote:Wow, thanks ladies.

Cheers
:lol: :P :lol:

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Post by Hannieroo » Mon, 05 Aug 2013 6:14 pm

To be honest the norm for people here is not to have a car. But it depends on where you work, live and the school you go to. My life would be pretty hard without and husband would be a $40 round trip taxi a day for work. But if you live near a supermarket/the school/mrt then you don't need it so much. But you do get more for your money the less convenient the location of your home.

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Post by Wd40 » Mon, 05 Aug 2013 6:42 pm

There are 2 aspects of the missing not having a car. One is the convenience aspect. This you may overcome to certain extent by taxis, public transport etc. Although not fully.

But the other aspect is, like during weekends, sometimes the act of getting into a car and taking off without planning and the privacy and closeness of having just your loved ones in the car, being on the driver's seat and taking control of where you want to go, having a chat with your loved ones without really looking at them, concentrating on the road yet talking to them etc is something that you will never get in a taxi. That is something that I miss :(

I hate taxis for weekends, I just hate them. I cant bear the thought of someone else enjoying the drivers seat doing all the drifts while we are at the back seat at the receiving end. We take Bus, MRT better instead.

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Post by Hannieroo » Mon, 05 Aug 2013 6:56 pm

Actually that sums up how I felt about having a driver. I used to be so jealous.

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martincymru
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Post by martincymru » Mon, 05 Aug 2013 8:59 pm

"My husband is in an industry that requires mobility... "

If you both have never worked in Asia before then firstly you need to be certain ( as far as one can be) that your relationship is on a stable footing.

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Mon, 05 Aug 2013 9:30 pm

^^^ THIS!

(from a 30 years Asia veteran)
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Re: What do you need in a salary package

Post by Chantikki » Mon, 05 Aug 2013 9:34 pm

LillyP1 wrote:Hello

My husband has been offered a position in Singapore. We live in Sydney at the moment.
Based on the salary that he has been offered we would be worse off moving as the children would need to go to International School, thus already $60K down :(
We've been told to give a wish-list: of what assistance we would like.

What percentages are considered normal for housing and schooling contributions?

Medical insurance- is that apart of the package?

Re-location costs will be inclusive, do I take it that will also cover somewhere to live while our belongs get shipped and we find somewhere to live.

What about flights back?

My husband has worked for the company for years and doesn't want to loose his severance pay options if things go wrong. Can you carry over your previous contact?

And, I have never been to Singapore, very open to it but what makes it so great?? Its sounds all so expensive.

Thanks and look forward to your sound - positive advice.

:)
Cluster houses near the Australian School are around $6500 but Australians live all over. Some people live in houses and join a club for around $2000 a year, it will have a nice resort style pool. If you want to continue netball football etc the Australian school of ANZA association are good. Having a helper (maid) is great - budget (1000 per month for that) If you use aircon the bill can be $500- 1000 a month. Many people take the MRT and taxis.
Meeting people from all around the world is fantastic, but a lot of people tend to stick with their own kind. There will be plenty of cheap flights all around the region (Cambodia, Vietman, Malaysia etc) Most hawker food is awesome. Medical insurance usually comes with you package.

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Post by Hannieroo » Mon, 05 Aug 2013 11:23 pm

martincymru wrote:"My husband is in an industry that requires mobility... "

If you both have never worked in Asia before then firstly you need to be certain ( as far as one can be) that your relationship is on a stable footing.
My husband work is mobile. Not the contents if his pants thank you very much.

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PNGMK
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Post by PNGMK » Tue, 06 Aug 2013 11:46 pm

Hannieroo wrote:
martincymru wrote:"My husband is in an industry that requires mobility... "

If you both have never worked in Asia before then firstly you need to be certain ( as far as one can be) that your relationship is on a stable footing.
My husband work is mobile. Not the contents if his pants thank you very much.
We know the first bang when Hanni's husband comes home is NOT the screen door slamming behind him.... (and old Aussie saying).

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PNGMK
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Post by PNGMK » Wed, 07 Aug 2013 7:46 am

Wd40 wrote:
LillyP1 wrote:Wow, thanks ladies.

Cheers
:lol: :P :lol:
My flip flops belong to Hanni.

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zzm9980
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Post by zzm9980 » Wed, 07 Aug 2013 8:25 am

Wd40 wrote:
LillyP1 wrote:Wow, thanks ladies.

Cheers
:lol: :P :lol:
Yes, I lol'd too.

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