April 23, Kathmandu – The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration has drafted a Federal Civil Service Bill that proposes to increase the retirement age of civil servants to 60 years. The ministry’s team is preparing to release the draft bill for public feedback. Minister Pratibha Rawal informed that the bill has been prepared with the aim of extending the retirement age for civil servants to 60 years. According to her, once the bill is passed by the federal parliament, the retirement age will be raised to 59 years in the first year and then to 60 years from the second year onward. ‘We have held detailed discussions with ministry employees and experts about the bill; however, rumors and misinformation circulating on social media are not part of the bill,’ she said. ‘Our focus has been on creating a digital service-oriented framework that promotes incentives based on employee capacity and skills.’
Regarding age limits and service duration, the bill maintains the retirement age for civil servants at 60 years, with implementation carried out in two phases. It proposes reducing the term of office for the chief secretary (14th level) from three years to two years, while the secretary (13th level) will serve a fixed two-year term with a provision for the government to extend it by one additional year if necessary. Contrary to social media rumors suggesting different maximum service durations and separate age limits for undersecretaries, there will be no changes to their service tenure or retirement age. Undersecretaries will be allowed to serve up to 60 years unless promoted to secretary, after which retirement will align with the prescribed term for secretaries. The service terms and age limits for lower-level employees will remain unchanged.
The bill also proposes changes to the maximum entry age and cooling-off period. Under the new proposal, men must join the civil service by age 32, women by 35, and persons with disabilities by 39. Previously, the limits were 35 for men and 40 for women. Additionally, the bill stipulates that retired civil servants must wait at least two years before accepting any government appointment. During this cooling-off period, they are prohibited from filing candidacy or holding elected office. Although the Constitutional Committee previously debated the cooling-off period, no consensus was reached.
The bill introduces the concept of executive positions equivalent to secretaries, allowing qualified individuals from various sectors to be directly appointed through tests or competitive selection. Their tenure in these posts will be two years, similar to the terms of secretaries and top-tier civil servants, with the option to extend by one year.
Provisions addressing conflicts of interest are also included. Civil servants will be required to declare any personal interests and maintain relevant records, with a prohibition on making decisions involving those interests. Employees found violating this rule will face departmental action. The Ministry of Law had prepared two draft proposals on this matter in 2022, but they were not implemented. Furthermore, the bill recommends excluding current civil servants from preparatory classes and examinations for entry into the civil service.
Long-discussed arrangements for chief administrative officers at the local level are also addressed. The bill proposes deploying chief administrative officers directly from the federal level to the offices of provincial chief ministers. Currently appointed officers will be assigned to local governments through the chief minister’s office. The tenure for these officers will be five years once the act is enacted. A separate quota will be set at the provincial level for the transfer of certain employees from the federal level. Employee transfers may occur between two local governments with mutual consent, but the receiving local government will assume full responsibility for the transferred staff. Similar management provisions will apply to provincial service employees as well.
