Salaries, Allowances, Social Security, and Pension Payments: Increased Liabilities and Expenditures

via The New York Times 

Allocating Rs. 53 Arba for Pensions, but Spending Rs. 74 Arba

The government has successfully disbursed salaries, allowances, social security benefits, and pensions to its employees for the current fiscal year.

Due to reduced government revenue and previous delays in pension and social security distribution, some employees were concerned about potential payment delays this year. However, despite some challenges in builder payments, the General Accounts Office  was quoted as confirming that government employees' salaries, allowances, social security benefits, and pensions have been paid up until Sunday.

"Apart from the usual 28th-29th payment dates, this time the salaries were disbursed on the 24th," a deputy secretary working in the National Planning Commission was quoted as stating.

While the specific payment dates vary across different offices, the last month of the financial year must be paid one week in advance.

"For the past two years, we used to pay the last month's salary between the 15th and 20th. This time, the salaries of many offices were paid today," a Treasury Controller was quoted as explaining.

As per the Financial Procedures and Financial Responsibility Regulations 2077, the government is required to pay expenditures incurred in the current financial year at least one week before its end. The Comptroller General's office confirmed that most agencies were paid according to this schedule on Sunday.

Government officials have acknowledged that due to the imbalance between government income and expenditure, along with other technical reasons, a significant amount of capital expenditure remains unpaid, and certain current expenditures are also pending.

According to builders, approximately Rs. 70 Arba rupees are yet to be paid, excluding Sunday's payments.

This year, payment issues arose due to a lack of coordination between the government's allocated amounts and actual expenditures. Ministry of Finance officials have stated that even employee salaries, pensions for former employees, and social security allowances had to be paid through money transfers.

Bishnu Prasad Kharel, head of the Pension Management Office, was quoted as confirming that Rs. 74 Arba rupees were paid towards pensions.

In the current fiscal year, the government allocated only Rs. 53 Arba rupees for pensions, but additional withdrawals necessitated payments of Rs. 21 Arba rupees.

"This is the first time that 38 percent of the payment, even for mandatory obligations such as pensions, was made via money transfer," a finance department official was quoted as revealing.

During the third quarter pension disbursement, there were challenges with pensions for 20,000 teachers, as well as some army and police personnel. These payments were eventually made through money transfers.

A total of Rs. 63 Arba rupees were spent on pensions in the previous fiscal year, and this amount has increased by 17 percent this year. The increase is attributed to a 2 percent rise in retiring employees and a 15 percent salary hike. The government allocated a minimum of 15 percent to address the additional burden of 17 percent.

Officials from the registration department mentioned that the social security funds also had to be completed through money transfers.

Similarly, regular employee salaries were also disbursed through money transfers this year. Some offices had to transfer funds twice to fulfill salary payments due to the lack of necessary funds.

According to officers from the District Treasury and Controller Offices (DTCOs), certain offices requested additional funds for the second time due to insufficient salary allocations.

(Disclaimer: This article is a translation based on an original article. Consistency in information and data has been maintained for accuracy.)