SSF Nepal explained: contribution rates, registration & benefits (2026)
The Social Security Fund (SSF) Nepal in plain English — 11% employee + 20% employer = 31% of basic salary, the four benefit schemes, who must enroll…
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- The Social Security Fund (SSF) is Nepal's contributory social-security scheme, established under the Contribution Based Social Security Act 2074 (2017) and operationalized from late 2019. Governed by the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security.
- Contribution rate: 11% of basic salary from the employee (10% pension + 1% social-security tax) plus 20% from the employer (10% pension + 8.33% gratuity + 1.67% additional) — total 31% of basic monthly.
- Mandatory for every employer with 10+ employees; voluntary for smaller employers and for self-employed individuals (separate scheme).
- Four benefit pillars: (1) Medical, health & maternity protection, (2) Accident & disability safety, (3) Dependent family protection, (4) Old-age pension. For SSF-enrolled employees, SSF replaces the legacy separate gratuity, provident fund, and accident-insurance obligations.
- Contributions are due by the 15th of the following month. Late deposit accrues interest at 10% p.a. and triggers enforcement.
- Rates and scheme allocation on this page are checked against ssf.gov.np: the 31% splits as 1% medical/health/maternity, 1.4% accident & disability, 0.27% dependent family, and 28.33% old-age (20% pension + 8.33% retirement benefit). Latest instrument in force: Social Security Scheme Operation Procedure 2075 with its 5th amendment (2081-09-10).
If you employ people in Nepal — as a Nepali founder, an HR generalist, or a foreign company on EOR — the Social Security Fund (SSF) is the single most consequential statutory obligation after paying salary itself. This is the plain-English guide: what it is, what it costs, what it covers, and how to operate it correctly.
What SSF is
The Social Security Fund (Nepali: सामाजिक सुरक्षा कोष, abbreviated SSF) is Nepal's unified contributory social-security scheme. It was established under the Contribution Based Social Security Act 2074 (2017) and the Social Security Regulations 2075 (2018), and became operational for private-sector enrolment from late 2019.
SSF is governed by a 13-member tripartite board chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS), with representation from government, employers, and trade unions. As of recent SSF figures, the Fund covers ~18,500+ registered employers and ~1 million+ contributing employees nationwide.
Contribution rates
| Contributor | Heading | % of basic salary |
|---|---|---|
| Employee | Pension Fund | 10% |
| Employee | Social Security Tax | 1% |
| Employee — TOTAL | 11% | |
| Employer | Pension Fund | 10% |
| Employer | Gratuity | 8.33% |
| Employer | Additional contribution | 1.67% |
| Employer — TOTAL | 20% | |
| GRAND TOTAL monthly to SSF | 31% of basic |
Engineer on NPR 200,000 gross/month with 60% basic (NPR 120,000) + 40% allowances. Monthly SSF: employee 11% × NPR 120K = NPR 13,200 (deducted from net pay) + employer 20% × NPR 120K = NPR 24,000 (employer cost on top of gross). Total NPR 37,200/month to SSF for this employee.
Contribution by salary band
The two numbers people actually want: what comes out of the employee's pay, and what the employer pays on top. Both are computed on basic salary, shown here at the common 60%-basic split.
| Gross / month (NPR) | Basic at 60% (NPR) | Employee 11% (NPR) | Employer 20% (NPR) | Total to SSF (NPR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25,000 | 15,000 | 1,650 | 3,000 | 4,650 |
| 40,000 | 24,000 | 2,640 | 4,800 | 7,440 |
| 60,000 | 36,000 | 3,960 | 7,200 | 11,160 |
| 80,000 | 48,000 | 5,280 | 9,600 | 14,880 |
| 100,000 | 60,000 | 6,600 | 12,000 | 18,600 |
| 150,000 | 90,000 | 9,900 | 18,000 | 27,900 |
| 200,000 | 120,000 | 13,200 | 24,000 | 37,200 |
| 300,000 | 180,000 | 19,800 | 36,000 | 55,800 |
For an SSF-enrolled team at a 60% basic split, the employer's SSF cost is 12% of gross payroll (20% × 60%). Add the Dashain bonus (roughly one month's basic ≈ 5% of annual gross) and you have the fully-loaded statutory premium over salary.
Who must enroll
| Employer profile | SSF enrollment status |
|---|---|
| 10+ employees, formal sector | Mandatory |
| <10 employees, formal sector | Voluntary (often deferred to legacy PF + gratuity regime) |
| Foreign-owned company in Nepal with any employees | Same threshold — mandatory at 10+ |
| EOR provider operating in Nepal | EOR's Nepali entity enrolls the workers it employs |
| Self-employed / informal sector | Separate voluntary scheme |
| Genuine independent contractor on a service agreement | Not covered (contractor handles own retirement provisions) |
Splitting a 12-person company into two 6-person 'related' entities to avoid SSF enrolment doesn't survive a Labour Office or SSF audit. The substance-over-form test applies. Penalty: back-contributions for the full period plus interest.
Registration steps
- 11. Employer registrationApply on the SSF portal (ssf.gov.np) with the company's PAN, certificate of incorporation, business address, and authorized signatory details. Issued an employer registration number.
- 22. Employee enrollmentEach employee is enrolled individually with national ID/Citizenship details, date of birth, designation, basic salary, and joining date. Issued an SSF contributor ID.
- 33. Bank linkageDesignate a corporate bank account for monthly SSF debits. Most commercial banks in Nepal are integrated with SSF's collection system.
- 44. First contributionCalculate the first month's 31% (or pro-rata for partial month), file the monthly contribution statement on the SSF portal, and remit by the 15th of the following month.
SSF portal, login & offices
Everything operational happens on the SSF portal at ssf.gov.np. Employers and employees use different logins, and the most common support call is an employee trying to sign in with the employer's credentials.
| You are | Where you log in | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Employer (registered) | Employer login on ssf.gov.np with your employer registration number | File monthly statements, enroll and exit employees, download deposit vouchers and contribution reports |
| Employee (contributor) | Contributor login on ssf.gov.np with your SSF contributor ID (social security number) | View your contribution history, check scheme eligibility, submit medical / maternity / accident claims |
| Not yet registered | Employer registration form on ssf.gov.np | Register the company with PAN, incorporation certificate, address, and authorized signatory |
- Contributor ID lost? Your employer can retrieve it from the employer portal's employee list — you do not need to re-register.
- SSF operates a head office in Kathmandu plus liaison offices across the provinces; claims are processed through the office your employer is registered under. Confirm the current office list and contact numbers on ssf.gov.np, since the network has been expanding.
- Claims (medical, maternity, accident, dependent, pension) are filed by the contributor with employer verification — the employer cannot file on the contributor's behalf without their documents.
Monthly contribution & filing
- By the 15th of each month: file the previous month's contribution statement on the SSF portal (employee list × basic × 31%).
- Pay the calculated amount via designated bank to SSF's collection account; obtain the deposit voucher.
- Provide each employee with a payslip showing the 11% deduction and (best practice) the 20% employer share for transparency.
- Reconcile annually; file annual return alongside the Labour Office filing.
- On joining / exit: enroll new employees within 30 days; mark exits with last working day and pay final contribution pro-rata.
Late SSF contributions accrue interest at 10% per annum from the due date. Sustained non-payment triggers SSF enforcement notices, Labour Office inspection, and reputational damage that surfaces during termination disputes (Labour Court will examine SSF compliance as evidence of good faith).
Annual filing calendar
SSF runs on the Nepali calendar (Bikram Sambat), which trips up foreign finance teams working to a Gregorian close. This is the rhythm to put in your payroll calendar.
| When | What | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly, by the 15th (Gregorian) of the following month | Contribution statement filed on the SSF portal + payment via designated bank | Payroll |
| Within 30 days of joining | New-joiner enrollment and contributor ID issue | HR onboarding |
| Within the month of exit | Exit marked, final pro-rata contribution, contribution statement handed to employee | HR offboarding |
| Shrawan–Bhadra (Jul–Sep) | Reconcile the closed fiscal year (Ashad 31 close) against payroll and IRD salary filings | Finance |
| Ashwin (Sep–Oct), before Dashain | Confirm festival-allowance treatment before the Dashain payroll run | Payroll + auditor |
| Annually with the Labour Office return | SSF annual return alongside the labour and harassment-committee filings | HR |
The four benefit schemes
- 11. Medicine, health & maternity protectionReimbursement of medical expenses (subject to schedules), full-pay maternity for 98 days, and partial paternity coverage. Eligibility kicks in after a minimum contribution period (typically 3 months for maternity, longer for some medical claims).
- 22. Accident & disability safetyCoverage for workplace and non-workplace accidents resulting in temporary or permanent disability. Includes treatment cost reimbursement and disability pension.
- 33. Dependent family protectionOn the death of a contributor, dependent family members (spouse, minor children, dependent parents) receive a survivor pension calculated on the contributor's average pensionable salary and years of contribution.
- 44. Old-age pensionLifetime monthly pension from age 60 (with at least 180 months / 15 years of contribution). Pension is calculated on average pensionable basic over the contribution period. Below 15 years, contributor receives lump-sum withdrawal of accumulated pension contributions plus interest.
SSF publishes the exact split of the 31% across the four schemes in its official formal-sector scheme brochure. This is the allocation to quote when an auditor or an employee asks where the money actually goes.
| Scheme | Share of contribution | What it funds |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Medical treatment, health & maternity protection | 1% | Medical and OPD reimbursement under the SSF schedule, maternity benefit |
| 2. Accident & disability protection | 1.4% | Workplace and non-workplace accident treatment, disability pension |
| 3. Dependent family protection | 0.27% | Survivor pension and dependent benefits on a contributor's death |
| 4. Old-age protection — pension | 20% | Lifetime monthly pension from age 60 (with 180 months of contribution) |
| 4. Old-age protection — retirement (gratuity) benefit | 8.33% | The individual retirement account that replaces legacy gratuity |
| Old-age protection subtotal | 28.33% | |
| TOTAL | 31% |
First, an employee may voluntarily contribute more than the statutory 11% — the extra amount is credited to the retirement (avakash) benefit scheme, not to the pension pool. Second, SSF confirms contributors get a tax deduction of one-third of taxable income or up to NPR 500,000 a year, whichever is lower, and amounts deposited above the 31% still count toward that deduction. Also note SSF's own framing of the 1%: it is the social security tax, not an extra pension credit.
Official sources & latest amendments
SSF rules are amended by procedure (karyavidhi) and directive rather than by re-legislating the Act, so the Act's date tells you very little about what is currently in force. Everything below is taken from the ऐन तथा नियम (Acts & Regulations) register on ssf.gov.np — check that page before relying on any secondary summary, including this one.
| Instrument | Current version on ssf.gov.np | Published (BS) |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution Based Social Security Act | 2074 (2017) | — |
| Contribution Based Social Security Regulations | 2075 (2018) | 2075-08-03 |
| Social Security Scheme Operation Procedure | 2075, with 5th amendment | 2081-09-10 |
| Informal & self-employed sector scheme operation procedure | 2079, with 1st amendment | 2080-11-17 |
| Foreign (migrant) sector scheme operation procedure | 2079, with 1st amendment | 2080-11-17 |
| Contributor Loan Directive | 2079, with 2nd amendment | 2083-03-30 |
| Retirement Fund (Operation & Management) Procedure | 2083 | 2083-03-22 |
| SSF Investment Procedure | 2077, with 1st amendment | 2082-10-18 |
| Contributor's children scholarship operation procedure | 2079 | 2079-06-05 |
Two of these are recent enough that most HR handbooks in Kathmandu have not caught up. The Retirement Fund (Operation and Management) Procedure 2083 governs how the 8.33% retirement account is administered and paid out, and the second amendment to the Contributor Loan Directive changes the terms on which contributors can borrow against their own SSF balance — a live employee-relations question the moment one of your team asks HR about it.
SSF also operates four separate scheme families — formal sector, informal sector, foreign (migrant) sector, and self-employed sector — each with its own operation procedure. Employer-side compliance for a Nepal company sits entirely in the formal-sector procedure; the others matter when you are hiring returnee migrant workers or converting long-term contractors.
Contribution percentages have been stable since 2019, but claim schedules, eligibility waiting periods, loan terms and medical reimbursement ceilings move with each amendment. Confirm against ssf.gov.np/list/act_regulation, the SSF portal, or the SSF call centre (toll-free 1116, or 01-5970016) before a filing or a claim decision.
SSF vs legacy gratuity & PF
Before SSF, Nepalese employees were entitled to separate provident-fund contributions (typically 10% employer + 10% employee held with the Employees Provident Fund — Karmachari Sanchaya Kosh) and a gratuity calculated as 8.33% of basic per year of service, payable on exit. Some employers also carried separate group accident insurance.
For SSF-enrolled employees, the 20% employer SSF contribution explicitly absorbs the 8.33% gratuity and substitutes for the legacy PF, and the four benefit schemes substitute for separate insurance arrangements. The employee no longer has a separate PF balance growing in EPF — the equivalent is the pension and dependent benefits inside SSF.
| Item | Legacy regime (pre-SSF / <10 employees) | SSF regime |
|---|---|---|
| Provident Fund | 10% employer + 10% employee → EPF (Sanchaya Kosh) | Absorbed into SSF 31% structure |
| Gratuity | 8.33% × years of service, paid on exit | Absorbed into employer's 20% SSF share |
| Medical insurance | Private group policy (employer's choice) | SSF medical scheme (subject to schedule) |
| Accident insurance | Private group accident policy | SSF accident & disability scheme |
| Old-age provision | EPF lump-sum at exit + (optional) annuity | SSF lifetime pension at 60 (with 15+ years contribution) |
Penalties & enforcement
SSF enforcement moved from persuasion to inspection after 2024. The Fund now cross-checks employer PAN filings at the Inland Revenue Department against SSF contributor counts, which makes an under-declared headcount easy to spot. This is what non-compliance actually costs.
| Failure | Exposure | Typical outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Late monthly deposit | 10% p.a. interest from the due date | Interest recovered with the next deposit; enforcement notice after repeated delay |
| Not registering at 10+ employees | Back-contributions for the full unregistered period plus interest | Assessment order; directors personally chased for recovery |
| Under-declaring basic salary | Difference in contributions plus interest | Reassessment on the payslip and IRD-filed salary figures |
| Misclassifying employees as consultants | Reclassification, back-contributions, penalty up to 100% of unpaid amounts | Joint Labour Office + SSF finding; often surfaces via an ex-employee complaint |
| Not enrolling a joiner within 30 days | Coverage gap; employer liable for benefits the employee would have received | Direct liability if the employee has an accident or maternity claim in the gap |
Almost no SSF investigation begins with a random audit. It begins with a termination that went badly, an accident with no coverage, or a maternity claim that got refused — and the ex-employee walks into the Labour Office. Compliance is cheap; the dispute is not.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Consequence | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Calculating SSF on gross instead of basic | Over-deduction; employee grievance | Always 31% of basic only (Labour Rules require basic ≥60% of gross) |
| Running parallel PF and SSF for the same employee | Double-deduction; refund/reconciliation headache | Pick one regime per employee; SSF supersedes legacy PF for SSF-enrolled employees |
| Late monthly deposit | 10% p.a. interest + enforcement notice | Calendar reminders for the 15th; bank standing instruction |
| Not enrolling new joiners within 30 days | Coverage gap; back-payment liability | Run SSF enrollment as part of Day-1 onboarding checklist |
| Treating 'consultants' as SSF-exempt to save 20% | Reclassification + back-contributions + 100% penalty | Use proper contractor agreements only for genuine project work; SSF-enroll everyone else |
| Not paying SSF on the Dashain bonus | If Dashain bonus is part of basic structure: under-contribution. If it's a separate festival allowance: no SSF. | Confirm pay-component classification with auditor; document treatment |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
I have 8 employees. Do I have to enroll in SSF?
No — SSF is mandatory at 10+ employees. Below 10 it is voluntary. Most early-stage Kathmandu startups stay on the legacy regime (private PF arrangement + gratuity provisioning + private medical insurance) until they cross 10 employees. Some choose to enroll voluntarily earlier as a hiring signal — 'we run real benefits.'
Can foreign employees in Nepal contribute to SSF?
Foreign nationals working in Nepal on a valid labour permit are generally covered. The contribution mechanics are identical. Some workers prefer to opt out where possible because lump-sum withdrawal at exit (without 15 years of contribution) is restricted to the employee's pension-fund portion.
What is 'basic salary' for SSF purposes?
The 'basic' line item on the payslip — not gross, not CTC. Labour Rules require basic to be at least 60% of gross wages. Allowances (transport, food, communication, dearness allowance, festival allowance) are excluded from the SSF base.
Is the Dashain festival bonus subject to SSF?
If your payroll structure pays Dashain as a separate festival allowance (one month's basic, paid annually before Dashain), it is generally excluded from monthly SSF. If you fold it into the monthly basic salary structure, it is included. Practice varies; document your treatment.
How do I terminate an employee from SSF?
Mark the exit date on the SSF portal, pay the final pro-rata contribution, and provide the employee with their SSF statement of contributions. Pension entitlements vest with the employee in SSF; they continue accruing if the employee joins another SSF-enrolled employer.
Is SSF the same as Karmachari Sanchaya Kosh (EPF)?
No. EPF (Employees Provident Fund / Sanchaya Kosh) is the legacy provident-fund institution that still manages historical PF balances and ongoing PF contributions for employees not enrolled in SSF (typically civil-service and certain pre-SSF private-sector cases). SSF is the newer, broader contributory scheme that supersedes EPF for newly-enrolled private-sector employees.
Can EOR providers handle SSF for me?
Yes — that's a core part of the EOR proposition for foreign companies hiring in Nepal. The EOR's Nepali entity is the employer of record; it enrolls the worker in SSF under its employer number, files monthly, and bundles the cost into your invoice.
- Social Security Fund — official site, ssf.gov.np
- SSF register of acts, regulations, procedures & amendments
- SSF: Social Security Scheme Operation Procedure 2075 (with 5th amendment)
- SSF: Retirement Fund (Operation & Management) Procedure 2083
- SSF: Contributor Loan Directive 2079 (with 2nd amendment)
- SSF: formal-sector social security scheme (official brochure)
- SSF: all operating schemes (formal, informal, foreign, self-employed)
- Contribution Based Social Security Act 2074 (2017) — Nepal Law Commission
- ISSA country profile: Nepal
- Ministry of Labour, Employment & Social Security — moless.gov.np
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