August 2025

Reforming the Pension System in Nepal: Sustainability, Adequacy, and Coverage

By Dilip Raj Paudel Pension systems ensure financial security during retirement, especially in developing countries like Nepal. The sustainability, adequacy, and coverage of pension systems are critical for ensuring social security after retirement, particularly in developing countries like Nepal. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of Nepal's pension framework, examining contributory and non-contributory schemes to identify their strengths, limitations, and areas for reform. Utilizing a mixed-method approach, primary data from 384 respondents and secondary sources, including reports from international organizations,...

June 2025

Nepal. Social Security Fund: Over 2,000 claim health services daily

The government has introduced a new policy requiring companies to be affiliated with the Social Security Fund (SSF) in order to renew their registrations. However, the Fund’s regular programs have not yet succeeded in attracting a large number of employers and workers. This provision has been included in the government’s policy and program presented in Parliament for the upcoming fiscal year. To date, around 20,700 employers and nearly 2.3 million contributors have enrolled in the Social Security Fund. Yet, according to...

November 2019

NEPAL: Government pension scrapping plan

A plan by the Nepali Government to propose legislation depriving retired Public Servants of their pensions if they criticise the Government has caused a storm in the country’s Parliament. Minister of Federal Affairs and General Administration, Lalbabu Pandit told a meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee (SAGCC) that the Government was in favour of the measure. “We will deprive retired Civil Servants of their pensions if they are convicted of any criminal offence or crime against...

December 2018

Nepal needs a rights-based approach to transform unequal social structures, not piecemeal schemes

The Nepal government’s announcement of a social security scheme for formal sector workers this month has once again thrust social protection policy into the political spotlight. While such schemes can be important social policy instruments, significant concerns have been raised about this scheme and previous policies, particularly regarding government’s ability to fund and implement them. Now more than ever, it is important that social protection policies and programs effectively address issues of marginalisation and vulnerability that undergird social insecurity and...