Old Age / Senior Citizen Allowance (Bridha Bhatta) in Nepal: Eligibility, Age Rules and How to Apply

The old-age allowance, popularly called Bridha Bhatta (or Jestha Nagarik Bhatta), is a non-contributory cash transfer that the Government of Nepal pays every month to eligible senior citizens. It is the oldest and best-known of Nepal's social-security allowances and forms part of the wider Social Security Allowance (Samajik Suraksha Bhatta) programme, which also covers single women, widows, people with disabilities, endangered indigenous groups and young children.

The allowance is grounded in the Senior Citizens Act, 2063 (2006), which directs the State to make provisions for the protection and social security of senior citizens, and is delivered under the framework of the Social Security Act, 2075 (2018) together with the social-security operating and distribution procedures. The Senior Citizens Act defines a 'senior citizen' as a citizen of Nepal who has completed sixty years of age. Funding comes from the national budget, but registration, verification and payment are handled by local governments (municipalities and rural municipalities) through their ward offices, with the Department of National ID and Civil Registration (DoNIDCR) maintaining the central management information system.

Eligibility for the old-age allowance is set primarily by age, with a lower age for historically disadvantaged and remote-area elders. The general qualifying age has shifted with successive budgets: it was 70 years, was lowered to 68 years in the fiscal year 2079/80 (2022/23) budget, and was set back at 70 years in the fiscal year 2082/83 (2025/26) budget. The lower age of 60 for the targeted groups below has been retained across these changes.

Age is calculated from the date of birth shown on the applicant's Nepali citizenship certificate, so the citizenship document is central to determining eligibility.

The monthly amount is fixed by the Government of Nepal and is revised from time to time through the annual budget. According to the Department of National ID and Civil Registration's published rate schedule, general senior citizens receive Rs 4,000 per month, while 'other' senior citizens, the category that covers Dalit elders aged 60 and above and elders aged 60 and above from the former Karnali districts, receive Rs 2,660 per month. Single women aged 60 and above and widows of any age also fall under the Rs 2,660 rate. Because these figures are periodically updated in the budget, applicants should confirm the current rate with their ward office or DoNIDCR.

The allowance is not paid out daily or weekly. It is disbursed quarterly, that is, once every three months, through the banking system in areas and on dates notified by the government. Beneficiaries typically have a bank account opened (often at zero balance) into which the quarterly sum is deposited, or collect it at designated times and places where banking access is limited. The allowance must always be drawn against a valid social-security identity card.

Applications are lodged at the ward office of the municipality or rural municipality where the senior citizen resides. The eligible person applies in their own name; where they are unable to do so, a guardian, curator or caretaker may apply on their behalf. The ward office records the applicant in the registry, verifies the documents and, for those found eligible, issues a social-security identity card.

There is a defined annual window for new registration and renewal. Senior citizens (and the other allowance categories) are required to apply or update their records at the ward office by Mangsir 15 (mid-December) of each fiscal year; those who register within the window are entered into that year's beneficiary list. After verifying an applicant's eligibility, the ward office issues an identity card (parichaya patra), which is the document the beneficiary must present to receive payment.

The local level reviews each application and supporting documents within the prescribed period and confirms whether the applicant qualifies before the name is added to the distribution roll and the card is issued. The identity card is generally renewed each fiscal year to keep the record current; with the rollout of the National Identity Card (Rastriya Parichaya Patra), the process is being digitised so that beneficiaries can increasingly update records without being tied to a single ward office. Because procedural details and rates are updated periodically, applicants should confirm the current requirements, deadlines and amounts with their own ward office or DoNIDCR.

Responsibility for the scheme is shared across levels of government. The Department of National ID and Civil Registration, under the federal government, manages vital-events registration and the social-security allowance management information system, while ward offices and local governments handle enrolment, verification, identity cards and disbursement on the ground. Payments flow through commercial banks under government-notified arrangements.

The principal legal and policy instruments are the Senior Citizens Act, 2063 (2006) and its rules, the Social Security Act, 2075 (2018), and the government's social-security allowance operating and distribution procedures, which together set eligibility, the application process, the identity-card system and the payment mechanism. The annual federal budget is the instrument through which the qualifying age and the monetary amount are adjusted.