cost of living

Shanghai Expat Forum Index » City Living Forums » Questions and Answers

Author

Message

mmd1227

Ranter

Joined: Nov 14, 2004
Posts: 542

Status: Offline

Posted: Sep 03, 2005 - 06:38 AM
Post subject: cost of living

Do most expats receive a hardship allowance and cost of living allowance over and above your salary while in shanghai? Curious...what percentage of your salary are these amounts?

cookiemonster

Lurker

Joined: July 12, 2005
Posts: 35
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline

Posted: Sep 03, 2005 - 09:07 AM

Some expats do and some don't. It really depends on how the package is structured. The hardship allowance is designed to compensate for the living conditions in Shanghai (eg: pollution, health care level, etc) and is generally based on global surveys. There was a thread on this board some time ago with greater details. It is generally a percentage of base salary. I know of expats how receive 15% and some receive 10% (but some get none too). The same percentage should appluy regardless of your home country.

The cost of living is more tricky, because it is based on the difference between the cost of a set basket of consumer goods in your home country and the cost of a similiar basket of goods in Shanghai. Depending on your home country, the cost of those goods may be more of less expensive than at home. Companies generally use pricing surveys conducted by companies like ORC and ECA to determine the amount of an cost of living allowance. So the number of expats receivig this type of allowance, will depend on their home country type.

Just something to note when comparing "expat" packages. There are many different ways that packages are constructed. Some companies have very strict guidelines with a formulated package where the elements of the package are clearly outlined (eg: base salary (same as at home) + housing + car + hardship + living allownace + schooling + etc), while others will simply give a larger "salary" number, which is expected to cover things like housing and schooling too. It's difficult to compare two different "expat" packages if you have one from a tansparent, policy driven company (where every single benefit is spelt out) and one which is a lump sum salary amount (because you never really know what has gone into determining that amoun).

Hopefully this helps.