Government increases mandatory retirement age for workers to 60

Kathmandu, January 15 — Workers will now be entitled to mandatory retirement at the age of 60. The government has recently increased the mandatory retirement age by two years through a new ordinance.

The Ministry of Labour, Employment, and Social Security had proposed a provision for mandatory retirement at the age of 60 under the Labour Act.

While the law was not amended through Parliament, the Cabinet meeting held on January 10 decided to implement the provision via an ordinance amending certain Nepal laws.

Through the ordinance, the government has amended the Labour Act to raise the mandatory retirement age for workers. The ordinance, recommended by the government, was signed by President Ramchandra Paudel. It will come into effect once it is published in the Nepal Gazette.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour, Employment, and Social Security, Danduraj Ghimire, stated that the mandatory retirement age has been increased from 58 to 60.

The Labour Act, 2074 (2017) had a provision for mandatory retirement in Section 147, which stated that workers engaged in regular employment would retire upon reaching the age of 58.

If there was a need for mandatory retirement before reaching the age of 58 due to the nature of specific work, the Act also allowed for permission from the Central Labour Advisory Council, as specified in the regulations.