Nepal Finance Ministry endorses 55/30 retirement provision

The Nepal Ministry of Finance has re-endorsed the contentious ‘55/30 provision’ within the long-delayed Federal Civil Service Bill. This provision would mandate that civil servants retire upon reaching either 55 years of age or 30 years of service.

The bill has been stalled for eight years, with the retirement provision serving as a primary point of debate. If implemented, the provision would result in the immediate mandatory retirement of more than 13,000 civil servants and increase the state’s financial burden by over Rs 25 billion.

Madan Bhujel, secretary at the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration, stated that the draft will now proceed to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, followed by the Public Service Commission. Once approved by the commission, the government intends to table the bill in Parliament.