Civil servants' careers and retirement in Cameroon
Once confirmed in post, a civil servant moves up step by step, may change level, be disciplined, seconded or placed on leave of absence, then retires at an age that depends on their grade. Since 2021 those ages have been harmonised; since 2025, career decisions have gone through AIGLES. This page relies mainly on the Directorate General of the Budget's (MINFI) study of the public administration's pension system.
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Promotion and career decisions
Promotion through steps and levels relies on professional performance appraisal (Decree No. 2001/108 of 20 March 2001) and on joint administrative committees (Decree No. 2001/115 of 27 March 2001). We found no public source giving the promotion rhythm for all corps (for teachers, see the page on their pay). Since 2025 AIGLES has applied promotions, confirmations and step changes automatically: 250,686 automatic promotions and more than 15,000 other career decisions in 2025, according to MINFOPRA.
Since Decree No. 2012/079 of 9 March 2012, management has been devolved on the principle that 'the ministry that actually employs a public servant manages their career and authorises their pay'. The first port of call is therefore one's own ministry's personnel department. Moving up a grade normally means passing a professional exam (see the recruitment page); the procedure for regrading after earning a new qualification is not published online.
Transfers, secondment, leave of absence, discipline
The General Rules provide for several positions: active service, secondment (to a public or semi-public body, for example) and leave of absence. A seconded civil servant keeps paying into their pension: the host body pays the Treasury 12% of the base salary the employee would have earned in their own administration, under Article 4 of Decree No. 74/759 of 26 August 1974, as cited by the Directorate General of the Budget. Seconded staff and those on leave of absence were only due to receive their arrears after January 2026. Transfer rules (timetable, criteria) are not published online and are handled by each ministry.
Civil servants' private paid activities are regulated by Decree No. 2000/691, and discipline by a Standing Disciplinary Board (Decree No. 2000/685) and regional boards: in May 2019 the Littoral board examined nine cases, mostly for unauthorised absence. Abandoning one's post leads to suspension of pay, then dismissal; more than 3,000 employees had been flagged as absent since January 2025 through AIGLES checks, according to the government as cited by EcoMatin in June 2025.
Retirement age
On 30 December 2020 the head of state signed decrees 'harmonising the retirement age in the civil service' (Decree No. 2020/802 and Decree No. 2020/7951/PM), effective 1 January 2021: 60 for grades A and B, 55 for grades C and D. The health corps had already been brought into line with these ages by two decrees in July 2020. According to MINFI, corps with their own statutes such as the police, teachers and health staff already had special arrangements, and some special statutes keep their own ages.
| Staff | Before | Since 1 January 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Civil servants, grades A and B (excluding health) | 55 | 60 |
| Civil servants, grades C and D (excluding health) | 50 | 55 |
| Labour Code staff, categories 1 to 7 | 50 | 55 |
| Labour Code staff, categories 8 to 12 | 55 | 60 |
| Judges of the 1st and 2nd grades | 58 | 60 |
| Judges of the 4th grade and above | 65 | Unchanged |
| University staff: assistant lecturers / lecturers / associate and full professors | 55 / 60 / 65 | Unchanged |
The pension: calculation, advance pension, delays
The civil pension scheme rests on Decree No. 74/759 of 26 August 1974. According to the Directorate General of the Budget, a civil servant's retirement pension is calculated as: gross base salary × number of years of service × 2%. At least 15 years of service are required, and the number of years counted is capped at 38 for civil servants. As an illustration, 30 years of service give 60% of the last base salary, bonuses excluded. Early retirement is possible after at least 15 years of actual service. Labour Code employees have a different formula, based on average pay.
So that retirees are not left without income, an 'advance pension' has existed since 2002: it is paid automatically from the month after retirement, then adjusted once the pension is settled. The retiree must file their claim within four years or the advance pension is suspended; this deadline was extended to six years in 2019 'because of administrative slowness'. Civil servants' pension rights lapse after four years.
Settlement of pensions was devolved to the employing ministries by the 2012 decree; payment is handled by the Ministry of Finance, whose pensions department (DDPP) keeps the pensioners' file. Decisions concerning grade A civil servants also need a visa from the Prime Minister's office. Delays remain significant: in April 2023 the government blamed out-of-date career files, poor record-keeping and 'obsolete texts dating from the 1970s'. In June 2026 the minister said 5,196 pension settlement decisions had been started in AIGLES, of which 706 had been signed and 489 were in progress.
| Year | Pensions paid | Staff contributions | State contribution | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 56.7 | 25.1 | 32.8 | +1.2 |
| 2016 | 92.0 | 36.0 | 47.2 | −8.7 |
| 2020 | 120.2 | 39.7 | 50.1 | −30.3 |
Across all public schemes, the number of pensioners rose from 106,269 in 2010 to 153,941 in 2020, and 210.4 billion CFA francs in pensions were paid in 2020, 82.2% of them retirement pensions (EcoMatin, April 2023). In May 2026 the state was paying 160,285 pensioners.
Tax and combining income
According to the Directorate General of the Budget, the texts set a principle that certain pension rights cannot be combined with public pay, but we found no published text stating precisely what a retired civil servant may combine. On the tax side, the 2026 Finance Law raises from 25% to 35% the allowance on 'exceptional income' such as retirement payments, according to a Directorate General of Taxes circular of 2 March 2026.
Frequently asked questions
At what age do civil servants retire in Cameroon?
Since 1 January 2021, at 60 for grades A and B and at 55 for grades C and D. Some corps (judges, university staff) have their own ages.
How is a Cameroonian civil servant's pension calculated?
Gross base salary × years of service × 2%, with at least 15 years of service and at most 38 years counted, according to the Directorate General of the Budget. Bonuses are not included.
How many years are needed to qualify for a pension?
15 years of service for a civil servant, 180 months of contributions for a Labour Code employee.
What is the advance pension?
An advance paid automatically from the month after retirement, until the pension is settled. The claim must be filed within a deadline extended to six years in 2019.
Who pays civil servants' pensions?
The Public Treasury, through the Ministry of Finance, not the CNPS. The claim is first processed by the employing ministry.
Can a civil servant be dismissed for absence?
Yes: unauthorised absence leads to suspension of pay and then dismissal, after a disciplinary board hearing. More than 3,000 absent employees have been identified since January 2025.
Handle with care
The pension formula, the 38-year cap, the contribution rate and the advance-pension deadline come from the Directorate General of the Budget's study, whose online text is partly unreadable; it also mentions a pension cap of 80% of a reference pay, which we could not reconcile with the 38-year cap. MINFOPRA's pension settlement guide is unavailable (broken link in October 2026). The retirement age table is the one in the MINFI study; the numbers of the July 2020 health decrees are not given in the press consulted. Public pension totals do not cover the same scope in different articles: 210.4 billion CFA francs paid in 2020 across all public schemes (EcoMatin, April 2023), but 216.1 billion in 2019 and 269.6 billion in 2024 for state pensions in another EcoMatin article, cited on the CNPS pension page.