Social Security Fund (SSF) सामाजिक सुरक्षा कोष
Social Security Fund (SSF) लाई नेपालीमा सामाजिक सुरक्षा कोष (samajik suraksha kosh) भनिन्छ। यसमा कर्मचारीको आधारभूत तलबको 11% कर्मचारीले र 20% रोजगारदाताले हरेक महिना योगदान गर्छन्, र यही रकमबाट उपचार, दुर्घटना, आश्रित परिवार र वृद्धावस्थाको सुरक्षा दिइन्छ। The Social Security Fund is Nepal's contributory social security scheme. Employer and employee together deposit 31% of the employee's basic salary every month (11% from the employee, 20% from the employer), and that pool pays out medical, accident, dependent-family and old-age benefits.
Also called: SSF, SSF Nepal, contribution based social security, sasec, samajik suraksha kosh
Key facts
- Employee contribution
- 11%Deducted from the employee's basic salary.
- Employer contribution
- 20%Paid by the company on top of salary.
- Total deposited
- 31%Of basic salary, not gross.
- Deposit deadline
- Within 25 days of month endLate deposits attract interest.
- Registration
- ssf.gov.npEmployer registers first, then enlists each employee.
What the contribution is assessed on
SSF is calculated on basic salary, never on gross. If an employee's basic is NPR 30,000 and allowances add another NPR 10,000, the SSF contribution is 31% of 30,000, not of 40,000. Getting this wrong is the single most common SSF error in Nepali payroll, and it compounds every month until somebody reconciles.
The employee's share is a deduction on the payslip. The employer's share is a company cost that never appears in the employee's net pay, but it does belong in your cost-per-employee figure.
How SSF reads on a Nepali payslip
- At the minimum wage, the payslip (तलब पर्ची) shows the employee's share as सामाजिक सुरक्षा कोष कट्टी रु. 1,339: 11% of the आधारभूत तलब line (रु. 12,170), not of कुल तलब (रु. 19,550).
- The employer adds its 20%, रु. 2,434, as a company cost, so it never reduces खुद तलब (net pay). The deposit to the fund for that month is रु. 3,773.
- पारिश्रमिक कर (TDS) on the same payslip is रु. 0: an SSF contributor pays no 1% social security tax, and a year at this salary sits inside that first band. खुद तलब comes to रु. 18,211.
The four schemes it funds
The 31% does not sit in one bucket. It is allocated across four protection schemes, which is why an employee's SSF statement shows several line items rather than a single balance.
Section 25 of the Fund's Social Security Scheme Operation Procedure 2075 sets the split. Its fourth amendment rewrote that section with effect from Baishakh 1, 2082 (14 April 2025), so a source written before then can show different figures.
- Medical treatment, health and maternity protection: 1.20% of basic salary.
- Accident and disability protection: 0.80%.
- Dependent family protection: 0.67%.
- Old-age protection (the retirement pot, and by far the largest share): 28.33%.
SSF and PF are alternatives, not additions
An employee enrolled in the SSF does not also run a separate Provident Fund deduction. The employer's 20% already absorbs what would otherwise be the 10% PF contribution plus the 8.33% gratuity accrual, and the employee's 11% absorbs the 10% PF deduction. A company that deducts both is deducting twice.
The practical consequence for tax: SSF contributors get the 1% social security tax on the first income band waived, because the SSF contribution already covers that obligation.
What HR has to do each month
- Enlist every new joiner in the SSF portal before their first payroll run, so their contribution is attributable.
- Deduct the employee share in the payroll run and add the employer share as a company cost.
- Deposit the combined amount within 25 days of the month ending, and keep the voucher.
- Reconcile the portal's employee list against your own headcount at every month end. Leavers who stay enlisted are the usual source of a mismatch.
Monthly SSF on a NPR 30,000 basic salary
- Basic salary
- NPR 30,000
- Employee share (11%)
- NPR 3,300
- Employer share (20%)
- NPR 6,000
- Total deposited to the SSF (31%)
- NPR 9,300
The employee sees NPR 3,300 as a payslip deduction. The company's real cost for the month is NPR 36,000.
Social Security Fund (SSF), answered
सामाजिक सुरक्षा कोष (samajik suraksha kosh): सामाजिक means social, सुरक्षा means security and कोष means fund. The Act behind it is योगदानमा आधारित सामाजिक सुरक्षा ऐन 2074, the Contribution Based Social Security Act 2074, and a Nepali payslip shows the employee's share as सामाजिक सुरक्षा कोष कट्टी, or simply SSF कट्टी.
On basic salary. The 31% total is 11% from the employee plus 20% from the employer, and both percentages apply to basic only. Allowances, overtime and bonuses are excluded.
No. The SSF replaces the separate Provident Fund and gratuity arrangements: the employer's 20% already contains the 10% that would have gone to PF plus the 8.33% gratuity accrual. Deducting both takes money the employee does not owe.
Within 25 days of the end of the month the contribution relates to, under Section 4(4) of the Contribution Based Social Security Act 2074 as amended in 2082. Older sources say 15 days, which was the earlier wording. Deposits after that attract interest, and a gap in the deposit record can affect an employee's claim eligibility later.
Yes, twice. The contribution is a deductible retirement contribution up to NPR 500,000 or one third of assessable income, whichever is lower, and SSF contributors have the 1% social security tax on the first income band waived.
- Contribution Based Social Security Act 2074 and the Contribution Based Social Security Regulation 2075.
- Contribution Based Social Security Act 2074, Section 4(4), as amended by the Some Nepal Acts (Amendment) Act 2082: deposit within 25 days of month end.
- Social Security Scheme Operation Procedure 2075, Section 25 as amended by the fourth amendment (in force Baishakh 1, 2082): the scheme allocation. Text with the fifth amendment published by the Social Security Fund at ssf.gov.np.
- The enlistment process is published by the Social Security Fund at ssf.gov.np.
This page explains general practice in Nepal. It is not legal or tax advice, and statutory figures are revised from time to time. Check the current Act, rule or notice before acting on it.
Put it into practice
Related terms
- Provident Fund (PF)कर्मचारी सञ्चय कोषProvident fund लाई नेपालीमा सञ्चय कोष (sanchaya kosh) भनिन्छ। यसमा कर्मचारीको आधारभूत तलबको 10% कट्टी गरिन्छ, रोजगारदाताले 10% थप्छ, र दुवै रकम कर्मचारी सञ्चय कोषमा कर्मचारीकै नाममा जम्मा हुन्छ। The Provident Fund is a retirement savings deposit held at the Employees Provident Fund (Karmachari Sanchaya Kosh). The employee contributes 10% of basic salary, the employer matches it with another 10%, and the combined 20% is deposited monthly against the employee's PF number.
- Citizen Investment Trust (CIT)नागरिक लगानी कोषCitizen Investment Trust (CIT) लाई नेपालीमा नागरिक लगानी कोष (nagarik lagani kosh) भनिन्छ। यसमा कर्मचारीले आफ्नो इच्छाले आधारभूत तलबको 33%सम्म अवकाश बचतका लागि जम्मा गर्न सक्छन्, र सीमाभित्रको यो रकमले करयोग्य आय घटाउँछ। The Citizen Investment Trust is a voluntary retirement savings scheme employees can join on top of PF or SSF. An employee elects to contribute up to 33% of basic salary, and the contribution reduces taxable income within the shared retirement ceiling.
- GratuityउपदानGratuity is a retirement benefit an employer funds throughout an employee's service rather than paying as a lump sum at exit. Under the Labour Act 2074 the employer deposits 8.33% of basic salary every month into the Social Security Fund or an approved retirement fund.
- Basic Salaryआधारभूत तलबBasic salary लाई नेपालीमा आधारभूत तलब (adharbhut talab) भनिन्छ, र नेपालमा यसको न्यूनतम रकम मासिक रु. 12,170 हो। The minimum basic salary in Nepal is NPR 12,170 a month, part of the NPR 19,550 minimum wage fixed under section 106 of the Labour Act 2074 (Nepal Gazette, 2082/04/05 BS, effective Shrawan 1, 2082). Basic salary is the fixed core of an employee's pay, before allowances, overtime and bonuses, and it is the base every statutory contribution is assessed on.
- Social Security Tax (SST)सामाजिक सुरक्षा करThe social security tax is the 1% charged on the first NPR 1,000,000 of a resident individual's annual income. It is collected through payroll like ordinary income tax, and it is waived for employees who contribute to the Social Security Fund.
- Cost to Company (CTC)Cost to company is the total annual cost of employing someone: gross salary plus the employer's own statutory contributions, festival expense, and any benefit the company funds. It is always higher than gross, and higher again than net pay.
- Maternity Leaveप्रसूति बिदाMaternity leave in Nepal is ninety-eight days under the Labour Act 2074, of which sixty days are paid at full remuneration. It can begin before the expected delivery date, and the entitlement is the employee's regardless of length of service.
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