OJK Urges Early Retirement Planning, Focusing on Informal Workers

Jakarta, Aktualita.co - The Financial Services Authority (OJK) is encouraging the public to start preparing for retirement early as part of long-term financial planning. Such preparation is considered increasingly vital to maintain financial resilience when entering retirement.

This push was conveyed during the launch of Pension Fund Month 2026, held in the Senayan area, Jakarta, on Sunday (6/9/2026).

Chair of the OJK Board of Commissioners, Friderica Widyasari Dewi, stated that the challenge in developing the pension fund industry is not only related to increasing the amount of managed funds but also to expanding the number of people participating in pension programs.

“The homework is not just to grow the managed pension funds, but to increase participation,” said Friderica.

According to her, this challenge is becoming more complex due to changing work patterns. Currently, not all workers are in formal employment relationships as permanent employees. Many people choose to be self-employed, business owners, or work in the informal sector.

“Especially now that many of our people prefer not to be employees, with many self-employed workers and others. This is our collective homework,” she said.

Friderica emphasized that efforts to ensure public welfare upon reaching retirement age cannot be solely burdened on the government or the financial services industry. Individual awareness to start planning for old-age financial needs is one of the most decisive factors.

“To improve public welfare during retirement, synergy and collaboration between all parties are needed. But the main thing is the willingness of the public itself,” she said.

Pension System Needs Strengthening

OJK Chief Executive of Insurance, Guarantee, and Pension Fund Supervision, Ogi Prastomiyono, said that strengthening Indonesia’s pension system needs to be directed toward increasing the replacement ratio, which is the ratio of income that a person can still receive after entering retirement compared to their income while actively working.

According to Ogi, increasing the replacement ratio cannot rely on just one pension scheme. It requires integration and synergy between mandatory pension programs, pension programs for state civil servants (ASN), members of the TNI and Polri, as well as voluntary pension programs through Employer Pension Funds (DPPK) and Financial Institution Pension Funds (DPLK).

“Expansion of participation, adequacy and sustainability of contributions, and prudent investment management must be carried out together,” said Ogi.

He reminded that a person’s financial needs do not automatically end when they stop working. In retirement, people must still meet various needs, ranging from healthcare costs, housing, daily necessities, to long-term care.

This condition makes retirement fund planning increasingly relevant, especially as life expectancy increases.

Indonesia Enters Ageing Population Phase

Indonesia has entered the ageing population phase since 2021. Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), about one in every 10 Indonesians currently falls into the elderly category.

The increasing number of elderly people makes financial preparation during productive years increasingly important. Without adequate planning, the economic needs of the elderly have the potential to increase the burden on families as well as the government’s need for social protection programs.

Minister of Manpower Yassierli said this challenge is also related to the structure of Indonesia’s labor market.

About 60 percent of Indonesia’s approximately 155 million workforce currently works in the informal sector. These groups of workers generally have more limited access to pension programs compared to formal workers.

“More and more people are at an age that is no longer working age, post-working age. And of course, we want them to be able to continue to be productive,” said Yassierli.

Meanwhile, Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Rini Widyantini emphasized that retirement preparation should ideally be done as soon as someone enters the workforce.

“Good preparation is not done when we are about to stop working, but from the moment we start working,” said Rini.

Pension Fund Literacy Remains Low

Through Pension Fund Month 2026, various pension program providers will hold more than 104 financial literacy and inclusion activities in several regions of Indonesia.

These activities include public education, seminars, webinars, retirement planning consultations, digital campaigns, and efforts to expand pension program participation.

The target of these activities is not only formal workers but also informal workers, ASN, members of the TNI and Polri, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), women, and the younger generation.

OJK notes that the national financial literacy rate is currently around 69 percent, while the financial inclusion rate has reached approximately 93 percent.

However, the public’s literacy rate specifically regarding pension funds is still much lower, at around 22 percent.

This gap shows that many people have used various financial services but do not yet adequately understand the importance of preparing income for retirement.

Therefore, OJK encourages the public not only to understand the concept of pension funds theoretically but also to start taking concrete steps in financial planning.

These steps include calculating financial needs in old age, setting aside a portion of income regularly from a productive age, and choosing a pension program that is legal and in accordance with individual needs and financial capabilities.

The launch of Pension Fund Month 2026 was also carried out simultaneously in Bandung and Semarang.

The program is supported by BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, PT TASPEN (Persero), PT ASABRI (Persero), the Association of Financial Institution Pension Funds (ADPLK), and the Indonesian Pension Fund Association (ADPI).

Through this series of activities, OJK hopes that public awareness regarding the importance of pension funds will increase, especially among informal workers and the younger generation who still have more time to build financial resilience before entering retirement.