October 7, 2025
JAKARTA – Indonesian Olympians and sports observers have voiced strong support for Youth and Sports Minister Erick Thohir’s long-delayed athlete pension fund proposal, saying it would honor retired athletes’ contributions while making a sports career more secure and appealing for aspiring athletes.
Erick, who also chairs the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI), brought forward the proposal in his first meeting with House of Representatives Commission X overseeing youth and sports affairs last week, saying the pension fund would signal the nation’s recognition of its athletes’ achievements.
“It’s time that we truly honor the heroes of this nation, [and a pension fund] is a clear indicator of it” the minister said, adding that Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa had also endorsed the initiative.
While the proposal has received broad backing, Erick acknowledged that details still need to be finalized, including eligibility criteria and pension amounts. One suggestion is to grant pensions to athletes and coaches who have won gold medals at the Olympics, Asian Games or Southeast Asian Games.
“[We need] to make these breakthroughs for the people, the youth and of course, the athletes, who have so far merely been treated as objects without any short- or long-term solutions,” he added.
The plan has been warmly received by lawmakers, many of whom emphasized that it is essential to safeguard the welfare of retired athletes and to make sports a viable career path.
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Past, present and future
Badminton legend and Indonesia’s first Olympic gold medalist Susy Susanti described the recent talks about a pension fund as “a breath of fresh air” for former athletes.
“[When I won the gold medal], all I got was a thank you. Things are better now with bonuses for Olympic medalists, but those are one-off payments. Many former athletes still struggle in retirement because of limited financial literacy. A pension fund would be far more meaningful,” Susy said.
She added that beyond recognizing past achievements, a pension fund could encourage more young Indonesians to pursue a sports career since it offers accomplished athletes security and stability after retirement.
“At some point, aspiring athletes must choose between education or sports. A degree provides stability, while a sports career is filled with uncertainty. That’s why many parents discourage or even forbid their children from taking that path,” Susy explained.
Fellow badminton legend and World Championship gold medalist Hariyanto Arbi echoed her sentiment, saying an athlete pension fund is long overdue and a fair recognition of athletes’ sacrifices.
“[Imagine] how tough it is [for athletes] to train from as young as 10 years old, and even then, not everybody becomes a champion since it’s even harder to reach that level. It is only right that the state values former athletes by providing them [with a pension fund] to guarantee their future,” Hariyanto, who is now a member of the Indonesia Solidarity Party (PSI), said on Thursday.
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Toward solid regulation
Indonesia briefly implemented a pension policy in 2016, when then-president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration issued a ministerial regulation granting monthly pensions to 34 Olympians and three Paralympians who won medals between the 1988 Seoul and 2012 London Games.
However, the program was scrapped in early 2017 because of a finance ministry regulation limiting state-funded pensions to civil servants.
In 2022, an amendment to the Sports Law established a legal foundation for an athlete pension scheme, stipulating that accomplished athletes are entitled to “rewards,” including welfare benefits.
The Jokowi administration followed up on the amendment by drafting a government regulation to implement the policy, but as of May 2024, it was still under review by then-Law and Human Rights Ministry, and there has yet to be any meaningful progress in the 18 months since.
Sports achievement management expert Djoko Pekik Irianto emphasized that close coordination between the sports ministry and Finance Ministry is essential for the effective implementation of the pension fund.
“The regulation must be carefully drafted to provide a solid legal foundation for both the government and the recipients so they can feel secure in using the pension fund according to the law,” Djoko said on Thursday.