Falgun10, Kathmandu. Government employees who have served for 20 years will be eligible for retirement benefits. According to Rajbhai Shrestha, Information Officer at the Retirement Management Office, even those who have continuously served in another government position from one government service to another will be eligible for a pension after completing 20 years of service.
However, there is a proposal to amend the existing law to allow employees of the Federal Parliament to receive a pension after 15 years of service.
For employees of the Parliament, the 'Federal Parliament Service Act 2064' applies. According to Section 50 of this Act, employees who have served for 20 years or more, or have reached the age of 50, are eligible for retirement benefits. When calculating the pension, the total years of service are multiplied by 50, and the result is divided by 50.
Recently, 17 lawmakers, including members from Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, CPN (Unified Socialist), Rastriya Janata Party (RJP), Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP), and independent members, proposed an amendment to provide a pension after 15 years of service for employees in parliamentary service. The amendment also includes provisions for extending the service period for employees who are appointed at the age of 45 or older to serve up to 50 years of age, with an additional extension of up to five years for retirement benefits.
Moreover, there will be open competition for the position of Deputy Secretary in the Parliament Service. There is no age limit for government employees applying for the position of Deputy Secretary in parliamentary service. Additionally, the previous service period will also be counted towards the pension in parliamentary service.
Thus, employees who have served in other government positions and have entered parliamentary service, even if they become Secretaries or Deputy Secretaries, will receive a pension after 15 years of service if the proposed legal provision is approved by Parliament.
This proposed amendment will apply to employees who have entered the service as Secretaries, Under-Secretaries, or Deputy Secretaries, but have not completed 20 years of service. If the proposal is approved, employees currently serving in the positions of Secretary, Deputy Secretary, or Under-Secretary in the Federal Parliament will also be eligible for retirement benefits after 15 years of service.
Lawmakers have proposed such amendments in the context of discussions on the creation of a unified law merging the 'Federal Parliament Service Act 2064' and related laws. According to Parliament spokesperson Ekram Giri, discussions are underway to merge the two laws into one.
The proposed amendments by lawmakers have not yet been included in the amendment proposal submitted by the government.
Lawmakers advocating for these changes include Rajendra Kumar KC from Nepali Congress, Thakur Prasad Gayar from CPN-UML, Gokul Baskota, Achyut Prasad Mainali, Deepa Sharma, Ishwari Gharti, Rankumari Balamaki, Rajendra Prasad Pandey from Unified Socialist, Bhanubhakta Joshi, Ammar Bahadur Thapa, Sher Bahadur Kunwar, Pradeep Yadav from JSP, Ranjukumar Jha, Deepak Bahadur Singh from Rastriya Janata Party, Santosh Pariyar from Rastriya Samajwadi Party, Sumana Shrestha, and independent lawmaker Amaresh Kumar Singh.