Are Retired Sportspersons Eligible For Pension Without A Government Job?

The sports person, who is offered a government job based on their sports achievements, is eligible to get the government job benefits like everybody else. But not all the sportspersons get a government job, and in that case, their financial security comes into question. When parliamentarian Shafi Parambil asked whether the government offers any financial assistance to such retired sports persons who didn’t have a government job, the government affirmed.

The Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Mansukh Mandaviya, in a written reply, said that the government offers a monthly pension between Rs 12,000 and Rs 20,000 to retired sportspersons under the “Scheme of Sports Fund for Pension to Meritorious Sportspersons”. This pension scheme is for those sportspersons who have won a medal in international competitions.

What Do Ex-Sportspersons Get Under The Meritorious Sportspersons Pension Scheme

Source: Reply in Lok Sabha

Since retirement in sports does not happen at the age of 60, but much earlier, the minister informed that there is one more programme for retired sports persons. He said in the reply that the Ministry also implements the Retired Sportsperson Empowerment Training (RESET) programme, which is for nurturing different skills in retired athletes so that they can make a transition into second careers as coaches to benefit the new generation and future champions.

Sports in India remain a speculative career option. Unlike other typical career options, job surety and job security in sports are ambiguous. The government acknowledges that sportspersons spend their prime years in intensive training, sacrificing other opportunities, and therefore, this assured monthly pension to such sportspersons is an act to compensate them for the other lost opportunities. The idea is to provide financial security to meritorious sportspersons for a time after they retire from active sports.    

However, it is not paid automatically. Sportspersons have to apply for it, and their application needs to be recommended by the concerned National Sports Federation. Once it is done and approved, the pension is directly credited to their bank account.  

Note that this scheme is different from the National Welfare Fund for Sportspersons, which provides financial support to sportspersons living in indigent circumstances.