Base salary

What sits on top of base

The full stack varies by country but the layers are consistent: mandatory retirement contributions (superannuation, KiwiSaver, CPF, pension auto-enrolment), variable pay, allowances, insurances and benefits, and paid leave loading where it applies. That is why comparing offers on base alone misleads in both directions: a lower base with a 17% CPF employer contribution or generous equity can out-earn a higher bare number, and employers budgeting on base understate true cost by 15-30% before anyone is hired.

Base as the system's anchor

Almost everything indexes off base: percentage pay rises, bonus targets expressed as a share of salary, severance formulas, insurance multiples, and often leave payments. Which means base decisions compound; a discounted starting base propagates through every future percentage increase, and a correction later costs more than pricing properly at offer. This is the arithmetic behind pay compression and behind candidates' reluctance to anchor on a low first number.

Fixed versus at-risk, honestly framed

The base-to-variable split is a values statement: heavy base says "we pay for the role", heavy variable says "we pay for the result". Neither is wrong, but mismatches hurt: high-variable packages in roles where individuals cannot move the number breed cynicism, and all-fixed packages in genuine sales roles subsidise coasting. The split should follow how much of the outcome the person actually controls.