Trustee Remuneration in Singapore: Who Pays and How Much
Trustee remuneration in Singapore is the payment a trustee takes from the trust fund for the work of running the trust. A professional or corporate trustee is generally entitled to reasonable remuneration, but only within the limits of the trust deed and the Trustees Act 1967. The Public Trustee charges a fixed sliding scale set by law. Private trustees usually charge under an agreed fee schedule. This guide explains each route, with the rules that govern them and the points to settle before you sign.
TL;DR
A trust corporation is entitled to reasonable remuneration from trust funds under section 41R of the Trustees Act. A professional trustee who is not a trust corporation needs the written agreement of the other trustees.
The Public Trustee’s fees are a published reducing scale on the gross capital value, set out in the Public Trustee (Fees) Rules 2010.
Private trustee fees come from the trust deed and the fee agreement, so the wording you sign matters more than any market average.
Reasonable expenses are reimbursed separately from remuneration, and agents hired by the trustee are paid under their own limits.
If a fee dispute arises, the court can allow remuneration or order a detailed review of the claim.
Table of Contents
What trustee remuneration means
A trustee holds assets for beneficiaries and must run them according to the trust deed and the law. When the trustee does this as a job, the work has a cost. Remuneration is the fee for that work. It is different from expenses, which repay money the trustee spent on the trust’s behalf, and different from the one-off cost of setting up the trust.
In practice, you will meet four kinds of charge:
Set-up fees: the legal and structuring cost of creating the trust and drafting the deed.
Remuneration: the trustee’s fee for acting, usually an annual amount or a percentage of assets.
Expenses: third-party costs the trustee properly incurs, such as valuation, audit or filing costs.
Agent fees: payments to custodians, nominees or other agents the trustee appoints.
Keeping these apart helps you compare quotes honestly. A low headline trustee fee can hide high expenses, and a high one can include services that others bill on top.
What the Trustees Act says
Singapore’s rules sit in Part 4B of the Trustees Act 1967, which deals with payment under trust instruments, remuneration, expenses and agents. Four sections do most of the work.
Section 41Q: payment under the trust deed
Subject to anything inconsistent in the trust instrument, section 41Q treats a trustee as entitled to be paid from trust funds for services, even services a lay trustee could have done, where the trustee is a trust corporation or acts in a professional capacity. The key phrase is “subject to the trust instrument”. If your deed says the trustee takes no fee, or fixes a specific fee, that wording controls.
Section 41R: reasonable remuneration
Under section 41R, a trust corporation is entitled to reasonable remuneration from the trust funds for services it provides to or on behalf of the trust. A trustee acting in a professional capacity who is not a trust corporation, and who is not the sole trustee, may receive reasonable remuneration if each other trustee agrees in writing. So a family trust with one relative and one professional trustee needs a written sign-off from the relative before the professional is paid under this section.
Section 41S: expenses
Section 41S is not in our research file, so the safe reading comes from the summary of Part 4B: a trustee may be reimbursed from trust funds for reasonable expenses properly incurred when acting on behalf of the trust. Reasonable and proper are the tests. Keep receipts and ask for an annual account.
Section 41T: agents, nominees and custodians
Under section 41T(2), trustees may pay an authorised agent, nominee or custodian out of trust funds if that person is engaged on terms entitling them to be paid and the amount does not exceed what is reasonable in the circumstances. This is where investment custody fees and similar charges sit.
How the Public Trustee charges
The Public Trustee is the statutory option. Fees are not negotiated: they are prescribed under the Public Trustee Act 1915, whose section 18 allows the Minister to prescribe fees, whether by percentage or otherwise, and provides that expenses a private trustee could retain are retained in addition to those fees. The Public Trustee Act is the source for that framework.
For a trust other than the special categories in rules 4 and 5, the Public Trustee (Fees) Rules 2010 set these rates on gross capital value on acceptance:
Slice of gross capital value | Rate |
First S$5,000 | 6.50% |
Next S$2,000 | 6.00% |
Next S$3,000 | 4.25% |
Next S$10,000 | 2.75% |
Next S$30,000 | 2.25% |
Next S$200,000 | 1.70% |
Next S$250,000 | 1.40% |
Next S$250,000 | 1.15% |
Amount over S$750,000 | 0.85% |
The rates are marginal, so each slice is charged at its own rate. A separate fee applies to income from investments the Public Trustee makes, and the rules set a minimum fee of S$15 for the categories covered by rules 4, 5 and 6. The rules were checked as amended to 11 October 2024, so confirm the current version on Singapore Statutes Online before relying on them.
A worked example
Take a trust with gross capital value of S$1,000,000. Using the table:
First S$5,000 at 6.50%: S$325
Next S$2,000 at 6.00%: S$120
Next S$3,000 at 4.25%: S$127.50
Next S$10,000 at 2.75%: S$275
Next S$30,000 at 2.25%: S$675
Next S$200,000 at 1.70%: S$3,400
Next S$250,000 at 1.40%: S$3,500
Next S$250,000 at 1.15%: S$2,875
Remaining S$250,000 at 0.85%: S$2,125
The total on acceptance is S$13,422.50. This is our own arithmetic from the published rates, and it shows how the scale flattens as the trust grows. It covers the acceptance fee only, not income fees or expenses.
Special needs and subsidies
For families planning for a child with special needs, the Special Needs Trust Trusteeship Scheme is relevant. SG Enable states that service fees under the scheme are subsidised 90% to 100% by MSF, and that funds are held by the Public Trustee in a Common Fund invested in low-risk income-earning investments.
How private trustees set their fees
Private trust companies and professional trustees do not follow a statutory scale. Their remuneration is set by the engagement terms and the trust deed. Common structures include:
A percentage of assets under administration, charged annually, often with a minimum.
A fixed annual fee for a defined scope of work.
Time-based charges for extra work such as restructuring, disputes or one-off distributions.
Acceptance and exit fees for taking on or handing over the trust.
There is no single Singapore rate. Complexity drives the price: the number of asset classes, whether there are operating companies in the structure, how many beneficiaries and jurisdictions are involved, and how often distributions are made. Any figure a website quotes is a starting point for your own enquiry, not a rule.
What the courts have looked at
Case law shows how a percentage scale is treated. In a Singapore High Court decision, the court ordered that trustees be remunerated under their then current standard scale, which provided an administration fee of 1% of the gross value of assets under administration. The order was made retrospective to 25 August 1997. The court treated gross value as open market value on an unencumbered basis. The point for you: ask how “assets” is defined, and whether debt on an asset is deducted.
When the court gets involved
Trustees outside the Public Trustee regime can also ask the court for payment. Under section 43 of the Trustees Act, the court may allow any trustee other than the Public Trustee such remuneration for their services as it thinks fit. This matters when the deed is silent, or when the trustee is a lay person who has done substantial work.
Courts also test whether the claim is supported. In VJZ & Anor v VKB & 14 Ors, the High Court found the affidavits and supporting material insufficient to justify the claimed remuneration and solicitors’ costs, and directed taxation instead of deciding the claims by declaration. Lesson: a trustee who wants to be paid should keep clear time records and a written basis for the fee, and a beneficiary who doubts a bill has a route to challenge it.
If the relationship has broken down for other reasons, see our guide on how to remove a trustee in Singapore.
What to check before appointing a trustee
Use this as a checklist when reading the trust deed and the trustee’s fee letter.
Does the deed contain a charging clause? Section 41Q applies only where the deed makes no inconsistent provision, so confirm what the deed actually says.
Is the trustee a trust corporation or a professional? That decides whether section 41R gives an entitlement, or whether co-trustees must agree in writing.
How is the fee calculated? Percentage of gross assets, fixed sum or hourly. Ask for the definition of the asset base.
What is the minimum? A percentage fee can be subject to a floor that matters for smaller trusts.
When is it charged? In advance or in arrears, annually or quarterly.
What counts as an expense? Valuations, audits, legal advice and agent fees should be itemised.
What triggers extra charges? Property sales, distributions, tax filings or litigation support.
Who can change the fee? Look for a review clause and notice period.
What happens on exit? Handover fees and notice terms.
Tax can also change the net cost of a structure. Our article on trust taxation rules for Singapore trustees explains how income is assessed, and the guide to choosing the right trustee covers criteria beyond price.
Fees versus a trustee’s salary
Searches for trustee pay often land on salary pages. A salary is what an employee of a trust company earns. Trustee remuneration is what the trust pays the trustee entity for acting. They are unrelated figures, and salary averages say nothing about what a trust will cost you.
Perspective
We see the trustee fee as the price of continuity. A will ends its work at death, but a trust can run for decades, and the person or company running it needs to be paid clearly, fairly and in writing. Most disputes we hear about start with an unclear charging clause rather than a high fee. A family agrees on a figure verbally, the deed says something different, and years later a beneficiary asks what was charged and why. We would rather you settle the fee basis, the definition of assets and the expense rules while the settlor is alive and can explain the intent. That is why our approach starts with the full picture of your estate: a schedule of assets, a liquidity analysis and the right structure for your family, whether that is a will with testamentary trust, a standby trust, an insurance and CPF nomination trust or a business protection arrangement. When the structure matches the assets, the trustee’s job is simpler and the fee conversation is easier. Our service is designed around personalized consultations and ongoing support, so you can ask how a fee would work before any document is signed. Joseph
How we can help
Trustee fees are easier to judge when you know what you are asking the trustee to hold. We help affluent families and business owners in Singapore set up the estate plan first, then the trust around it. Our published fees are:
Comprehensive Will (a.k.a. Testamentary Trust): S$1,250 to S$1,900 one-off
Schedule of Assets, Estate Liquidity Analysis & Asset Nomination: from S$500 one-off
Portfolio Structuring & Estate Optimisation: from S$1,500 one-off
Business Value Protection Trust (a.k.a. Buy-Sell Agreement): from S$8,000 one-off
We also offer a Standby Trust and an Insurance & CPF Trust via nomination. Details are on our estate planning services page.
If you are weighing a private trust company structure, our guides on PTC benefits and PTC requirements set out what to expect, and you can reach us here to talk through your situation.
FAQ
Can a family member act as trustee and be paid?
Yes, but the deed should say so. Section 41R’s entitlement is aimed at trust corporations and trustees acting in a professional capacity, so a lay relative would normally rely on a charging clause in the deed or an application to the court under section 43. Settle this in writing at the outset.
Are Public Trustee fees negotiable?
No. They are prescribed by the Public Trustee (Fees) Rules 2010 as a reducing percentage scale on gross capital value, with a minimum fee for some categories. The rules were checked as amended to October 2024, so confirm the current text on Singapore Statutes Online.
Are trustee expenses part of the remuneration?
No. Under section 41S a trustee may be reimbursed from trust funds for reasonable expenses properly incurred on behalf of the trust. Fees paid to agents, nominees or custodians are covered separately by section 41T, which caps them at what is reasonable in the circumstances.
What can I do if I think a trustee is overcharging?
Start with the trust deed and fee agreement, and ask for itemised accounts. If the matter is not resolved, the court can allow remuneration under section 43 and, as in the VJZ case, can direct taxation of claims that are not properly supported. Consult a Singapore lawyer who handles trust disputes before filing anything.
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