KATHMANDU, March 21: The retirement age for civil servants will remain at 58 years for the time being, with a two-year cooling period. A parliamentary sub-committee has approved these provisions in the bill on the formation, operation, and conditions of service for the civil service.
The sub-committee under the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee, chaired by Dilendra Prasad Badu, has finalized a draft of the bill, which, once approved, will set the retirement age for civil servants at 58 years for one year from the date of certification. In the second year after the law is enacted, the retirement age will be increased to 59 years, and in the third year, it will be raised to 60 years.
The government has proposed increasing the retirement age limit from 58 to 60 years, as stated in the Civil Service Act of 2049 BS. In a meeting of the sub-committee chaired by Badu, Committee Chair Ram Hari Khatiwada said, “Since a two-year cooling period will now be implemented, it has become necessary to keep the retirement age limit at its previous state for some time.”
According to Khatiwada, lawmakers have agreed to implement a two-year cooling period, which will prevent government employees from being appointed to any constitutional or other government positions for two years after they reach the retirement age, complete their term, or resign from their post. The government can now appoint civil servants to certain posts only after they complete the cooling period.
Bill bars local units from recruiting civil servants
The retirement age for constitutional bodies is 65 years. Therefore, if an individual retires at 60, they must remain in the cooling period for two years before being eligible for appointments. This leaves them with only three years of service before reaching the retirement age of 65.
However, some senior officials in the government, such as secretaries, may complete their terms before reaching their retirement age. Such employees will be allowed to work in constitutional bodies for their full term, even after completing the two-year cooling period.
The current Civil Service Act of 2049 BS provides for a five-year term for the position of secretary. Discussions are ongoing about reducing this term to three years in the new law.
On one hand, the constitutional provision mandates that 50 percent of the members of the Public Service Commission be appointed from current government employees. On the other hand, government employees are also appointed to constitutional bodies based on their experience and capabilities.
Some administrative officials have raised concerns about the cooling period and requested its removal. However, according to a sub-committee member, there was unanimous agreement to retain it.
Similarly, the committee has decided to proceed in accordance with the constitutional principle regarding employee trade unions. While the constitution grants the right to form trade unions, there is opposition within the sub-committee to party-affiliated trade unions.
The government is preparing to replace the additional secretary with a senior joint secretary at the 13th level, despite earlier plans to appoint an additional secretary.
Meanwhile, the sub-committee has reached an agreement on a provision limiting the number of attempts for government service exams. Those participating in open competition will not be allowed to take the exam more than six times, while employees already in service will be limited to seven attempts. The sub-committee is also considering allowing employees from any service to take the exam for the position of undersecretary in the administrative service.
