If you employ even a single staff member in Nepal's formal sector, you are legally required to deposit a monthly contribution into the Social Security Fund (SSF) — เคธाเคฎाเคिเค เคธुเคฐเค्เคทा เคोเคท — on their behalf. For first-time employers, the process can feel confusing simply because it spans two systems: the SSF's own online portal for calculating and reporting the contribution, and a separate payment channel for actually transferring the money. This guide walks through the full deposit process from start to finish, along with the contribution rates, deadlines, and penalties you need to know.
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What Is the SSF, and Who Must Deposit?
The Social Security Fund is Nepal's government-managed, contribution-based social protection scheme, established under the Contribution Based Social Security Act, 2074 (2017) and operated by the Social Security Fund Management Board under the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security. It replaced the older Employee Provident Fund and gratuity arrangements with a single unified system that covers medical treatment, maternity, workplace accidents, disability, dependent family protection, and an old-age pension.
Every employer operating a business or enterprise in Nepal with even one paid employee is required to register with the SSF and deposit a monthly contribution — there is no minimum employee threshold for this obligation in the private sector. The employer deducts the employee's share directly from their salary, adds the employer's own share on top, and deposits the combined total every month. Public enterprises, NGOs, and INGOs fall under the same requirement; only bodies with their own government pension schemes, such as the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and civil servants, are exempt.
Before You Start: What You Need
The deposit step itself only takes a few minutes, but it depends on some groundwork being done first:
- Employer registration completed on the SSF portal, with an issued Employer SSF ID and login credentials.
- Employees enrolled and each one assigned their own 11-digit Social Security Identification (SSFID), with their KYC details confirmed.
- Basic salary figures on hand for every employee, since the contribution is calculated on basic salary only — allowances like house rent, travel, or dearness allowance are excluded from the calculation.
- A ConnectIPS account, mobile banking access, or a wallet such as eSewa or Khalti ready to make the actual payment once the amount is confirmed.
Step-by-Step: How to Deposit Money into the SSF
Once registration and enrolment are done, the monthly deposit itself follows the same routine every time. Here's the full sequence from login to confirmation.
A closer look at each step
1. Log in to the employer portal. The employer-facing system sits at sosys.ssf.gov.np, separate from the general informational site at ssf.gov.np. Use the Employer ID and password issued when your organisation registered.
2. Open the Contribution or Collection section. Inside the employer dashboard, select the Nepali fiscal month you are filing contributions for — SSF reporting runs on the Nepali calendar, not the English one.
3–4. Review, verify, and confirm. The portal auto-calculates 31% of each enrolled employee's basic salary. Check the figures against your payroll records before confirming — once confirmed, the system generates a Submission Number that identifies this month's filing.
5. Generate the payment voucher. A bank voucher or payment slip is created for the total amount due across all employees for that month.
6. Make the payment. Pay the full amount through ConnectIPS, mobile or internet banking, an authorised partner bank counter, or supported wallets such as eSewa, Khalti, or FonePay, depending on what your bank and the portal support at the time.
7. Upload proof and confirm. Upload the transaction voucher or payment confirmation back into the portal. This last step matters — your contribution is not considered complete in SSF's records until the proof of payment has been uploaded and matched to your submission.
Tip: Keep a saved copy of every monthly voucher and submission number outside the portal as well. If a payment ever needs to be traced or disputed, having your own paper trail speeds things up considerably.
Contribution Rate: Where Your 31% Goes
The combined contribution is 31% of basic salary — 11% from the employee and 20% from the employer — and it isn't a single lump sum internally. It's allocated across four distinct protection schemes, with the majority set aside for long-term old-age security.
| Scheme | Approx. Share of Employer's 20% | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Old-Age Protection | 17.33% | Provident fund, gratuity, and pension after retirement |
| Accident & Disability | 1.4% | Compensation for workplace and commuting accidents |
| Medical, Health & Maternity | 1.0% | Hospitalisation, outpatient treatment, and maternity care |
| Dependent Family Protection | 0.27% | Life cover and survivor benefits for nominated family |
The employee's 11% is similarly structured — roughly 10% goes toward the old-age provident fund, with the remaining 1% collected as a social security tax. Since both shares are calculated on basic salary, the split between "basic" and "allowances" in an employment contract has a real effect on the final contribution amount, which is worth reviewing if you're setting up payroll structures for the first time.
Deadline & Late Payment Penalties
Contributions are due monthly, calculated against the Nepali calendar month in which salary was paid. Historically the deadline sat at 15 days after month-end; more recent guidance points to an extended window of around 25 days following an amendment. Because this kind of procedural deadline can change with new government notices, it's worth confirming the current due date directly on the official SSF portal before you file, rather than relying on any single secondary source — including this one.
Late payment consequences: Overdue contributions attract interest — commonly cited at around 10% per annum on the outstanding amount — and employees may temporarily lose access to certain benefits, such as the Disability and Dependent Family Protection schemes, until the arrears are cleared. Repeated or wilful non-compliance can also expose an employer to formal penalties under the Social Security Act.
How to Check Your Contribution Status
Both employers and employees can confirm that a deposit has actually been recorded, rather than just assuming the portal step went through:
- Employer portal: The Submission Number and payment status for each month remain visible in your filing history on sosys.ssf.gov.np.
- Employee login: Individual contributors can log in with their SSFID to see their personal contribution history and running balance.
- SMS check: Sending "SSF" by SMS to the fund's short code is a quick way for an individual contributor to check their status without logging in at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an employee deposit their own SSF contribution directly?
No. Depositing the combined contribution is legally the employer's responsibility. The employer deducts the employee's 11% at the time of salary payment, adds the employer's 20%, and deposits the full 31% on the employee's behalf every month.
What happens to my contribution if I change jobs?
Nothing is lost. Your Social Security Identification number stays with you for life, and contributions simply continue accumulating under the same SSFID once your new employer enrols you and resumes monthly deposits.
Is SSF contribution based on gross salary or basic salary?
Basic salary only. Allowances such as house rent, dearness, medical, or travel allowances are excluded from the calculation, which is why the basic-versus-allowance split in a salary structure matters for the final contribution figure.
What if my employer never registered me with the SSF?
An employer that fails to register and enrol its employees can be required to enlist immediately, deposit the full backdated contribution along with interest, or directly pay the employee the equivalent value of benefits they should have received. If you suspect your employer hasn't enrolled you, it's worth raising this with them directly or contacting the SSF office.
Is SSF registration and contribution mandatory for very small businesses?
Yes. There is no minimum employee threshold — an employer with even a single paid employee in the formal sector is required to register and make monthly SSF deposits.
Once the registration and enrolment groundwork is done, the monthly deposit itself becomes a routine few-minute task: confirm the figures, generate the voucher, pay, and upload proof. Building that habit early — and double-checking the current deadline each month rather than assuming it hasn't changed — is the simplest way to keep your business compliant and your employees' benefits protected.
Reference: Social Security Fund, Nepal — ssf.gov.np and the employer portal at sosys.ssf.gov.np.
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