The government is preparing to roll out a one-time provision in the Federal Civil Service Bill for compulsory retirement of civil servants who are aged 55 or have completed 30 years of service.

An earlier draft of the bill prepared by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Federal Affairs had proposed a retirement age of 60 years without any service-based condition. However, the revised version introduces a one-time provision applicable at the time of the law coming into force.

According to ministry sources, civil servants who are either 55 years old or have completed 30 years of service at the time the Act is implemented would be mandatorily retired. After this one-off transitional arrangement, the retirement age would be set at 60 years.

A government official said the provision was aimed at downsizing the civil service and making the administration more efficient. If implemented, the provision could result in the retirement of more than 10,000 civil servants. Additionally, around 3,000 employees retire every year under the regular system, which means the total reduction in workforce in a single year could be significantly higher.

The federal government has already reduced the number of ministries from 22 to 18, as part of an administrative restructuring, which has increased pressure to crop the number of employees across the civil service. At present, there are 50,768 sanctioned civil service posts at the federal level, of which 39,888 are filled.

Across federal, provincial, and local levels, a combined total of 85,240 civil servants is currently in service. Of these, 46.8 percent are in federal positions, 16.2 percent in provincial positions, and 37 percent in local government positions. The government has also begun organisational and management surveys across all levels of government to assess workload and determine future staffing requirements based on functional needs.

Ganesh Prasad Bhatta, joint secretary and spokesperson for the ministry, said the bill is still in the drafting stage and has been sent to the Ministry of Finance for review before being forwarded to the Ministry of Law for further scrutiny. He said he was not fully aware of the detailed provisions, as multiple officials were involved in preparing the draft.

The ministry had earlier released a preliminary draft for public feedback on April 24, which did not include the 55-year or 30-year service-based retirement provision. That earlier draft proposed a uniform retirement age of 60 years for all civil servants.

Sources in the government said the new retirement provision was added after instructions from the top political level. They also said the final shape of the law is still uncertain and may change during the review process involving multiple ministries and agencies.

The draft has been prepared by a task force comprising joint secretaries from the erstwhile Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Law and Justice. After incorporating comments from the Ministry of Finance, the draft was sent to the Ministry of Law for legal vetting.

Law Secretary Parashwor Dhungana said they have yet to formally examine the draft, and that it has been returned before further processing. He declined to comment specifically on the content of the bill, saying the ministry had not yet studied it in detail.

Three senior government officials, speaking to Kantipur on condition of anonymity, confirmed the inclusion of the retirement provisions based on age and service duration in the draft. One of them said that the bill would still undergo multiple stages of review and revision and that it is not certain whether the provisions will remain unchanged before the bill is presented to Parliament.

The legislative process requires approval from the Council of Ministers, followed by review by the Public Service Commission, and then scrutiny by the parliamentary legislative committee before it is formally tabled in Parliament. Officials said the government is aiming to fast-track the bill under its 100-day roadmap, which includes presenting the Civil Service Bill within a short timeframe.

The Ministry of Federal Affairs has reportedly urged relevant officials to expedite the drafting and review process, even during holidays, for an early outcome. However, the Ministry of Law has reportedly asked for a more detailed and properly structured draft, including analytical justification and supporting regulations.

There is also disagreement among officials regarding the dual criteria for retirement. A law ministry official said it would be difficult to justify on grounds of legal fairness if employees who have completed 55 years of age or 30 years of service on the day the Act comes into force are compulsorily retired, while those who fall short even by a single day are allowed to remain in service until they turn 60.

“This has already entered discussions. It is too early to say in what form the provision will eventually come,” he said. “We will have to wait and see. Voluntary retirement models could also be considered a way to reduce the number of employees.”

However, sources said the Ministry of Finance appear unwilling to support a voluntary retirement scheme because it would place a huge immediate financial burden on the state.

The current administration appears to be attempting to follow a model similar to the one adopted in 1992 by the government led by Girija Prasad Koirala, which retired a large number of civil servants.

The Koirala government implemented the measure not through a new law but by amending the Civil Service Regulations. It used provisions contained in the Panchayat-era Civil Service Act and Regulations to introduce the compulsory retirement system through regulatory changes.

The Civil Service Act 1956 had authorised the government to frame rules governing recruitment and service conditions of civil servants. Relying on Section 7 of that Act, the Koirala government amended the regulations and changed the retirement provision.

At the time, the mandatory retirement age for civil servants was 60 years, and there was no service-duration threshold for retirement.

On November 6, 1992, the Koirala government introduced the 29th amendment to the Civil Service Regulations. The amendment revised the provisions relating to compulsory retirement.

The amended provision stated: “A civil servant shall be retired from government service after attaining the age of 58 years or upon completion of 30 years of service.”

In addition, the regulations also included a provision allowing the government to compulsorily retire any civil servant who had become eligible for pension benefits.

However, the government also made arrangements to protect pension entitlements. In cases of compulsory retirement, the remaining period until the employee reached the age of 60 was added to the total years of service for pension calculation purposes.