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May 19, 2026
Elderly Face Difficulties With Indonesia’s Retirement Digital App
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The Indonesian Civil Servant Savings and Insurance Fund (Taspen) created a digital app to streamline services. However, elderly users still struggle to access it.
Betty, a retired Jakarta government employee, has been using the digital application created by Indonesia’s Civil Servant Savings and Insurance Fund, or Taspen, for the past five years. However, the 73-year-old woman has repeatedly been unable to access the service system on her cell phone, despite help from her daughter, Ayu.
According to Betty, who retired 16 years ago, she is unable to use the touchscreen on her cell phone due to a stroke. "My fingers are shaking," Betty said in early 2026.
Taspen launched the “Taspen Otentikasi” digital application in 2018. This application requires participants to perform a series of body movements for verification, commonly known as biometric verification. These include shaking or nodding their heads, blinking, and pronouncing the letter "A."
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Ayu, who often helps her mother use the Taspen digital application, said the application's interface is too complicated for older adults. Because of this, Ayu said, her mother often has difficulty performing biometric verification such as fingerprint and facial scans, resulting in her failure to pass the authentication stage.
Taspen stated that the service was created to ensure participants remain entitled to receive their pension funds regularly. On its website, Taspen states that if participants experience authentication issues in the app, they can submit a request for special treatment at a Taspen local branch.
In 2025, Taspen updated its digital services by releasing the "Andal by Taspen" app. A corporate release in October 2025 stated that the app had been downloaded by more than 2.5 million users. "This is Taspen's effort to ensure participants receive easy and convenient services," Taspen Corporate Secretary Henra said at the time.
However, Andal app users still encounter difficulties accessing the service. Betty and Ayu both said that while the verification process on the new app is easier, the interface is actually more complicated.
Ayu said the old app only required users to enter their Taspen number before facial verification. The new app, however, adds 14 features, from Taspen information and Work Accident Insurance reports to Taspen Life, not to mention biometric authentication.
Ayu said her mother was tricked by scammers who claimed to represent Taspen and sent a fake app via WhatsApp. Malware infected her mother's cell phone."Luckily, there were no banking apps on my phone," Ayu said.
Betty and Ayu's similar experiences accessing the app were also reflected in reviews in the Google Play Store, where people downloaded it. Users who left comments on the site said several features in the new app were unfriendly for the elderly. They also suggested that Taspen restore the old app, which they considered simpler and easier to use.
Four Taspen app users interviewed separately said they had experienced authentication failures at least once a month. Problems arose at several stages, such as taking a selfie. The time it took to resolve the issue varied, from two days to more than two weeks.
Arvi, a resident of Medan, North Sumatra, said his father's app once exited on its own and couldn't be reopened. "The screen was blurry ... white," he said. Arvi's father is a retired North Sumatra government employee.
Like Arvi, Farida, who helps her father access the app, once experienced problems logging in. She suspected the Taspen platform was busy because many users were accessing it simultaneously. "Finally, I was able to log in myself," said the resident of Jombang, East Java.
Obstacles in accessing the app forced retirees to collect their pension disbursements at the Taspen office. Sri Wurjaningsih, 75, visited the Taspen Head Office in Central Jakarta in early February 2026.
According to Sri, she couldn't access the app. "I can't do anything," said the woman, who retired from the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM).
Nunung Parnohadiningrat, 73, said she relies on her children to withdraw her pension funds through the app. "I'm not tech-savvy," Nunung said. She encouraged Taspen to improve services for the elderly to make it easier for them to access and withdraw their pension funds.
Purwita Wijaya Laksmi, along with several researchers from the University of Indonesia, once studied the ability of elderly people to use their cell phones. The study, published in the journal Gerontechnology in 2024, noted that only 19 per cent of elderly people had ever learned to use a cell phone. The digital and technological literacy conditions recorded in Purwita et al.'s research are being adjusted by app developers.
Airlangga University lecturer Jani Purnawanty said app developers and companies like Taspen must consider the physical condition and skills of elderly people when developing apps. "They have to imagine and take into account the abilities of elderly people," said Jani, whose research interests lie in law and technology.
According to Jani, developers can provide simple navigation features and seamless access steps while remaining secure. "The current system is designed for users who are fluent in using the internet," she said.
Santi Indra Astuti, founder of the Digital Literacy Activists Network (Japelidi), who assists her mother in using Andal by Taspen, said the app is too complicated for retirees. Retirees must perform several tasks, from registration to cross-app navigation. This multi-step process causes stress and fatigue for the elderly. “For elderly to independently reply to WhatsApp messages is already a miracle, let alone doing all these steps,” she said.
Japelidi regularly holds digital literacy training for the elderly. Santi observed that not all elderly people have cell phones with high-resolution cameras. Some are also comfortable with simpler phones. "Some have broken devices, covered with duct tape and rubber. But they are comfortable using them," said the lecturer at Bandung Islamic University, West Java.
The director of Elderly Friendly Indonesia, Dwi Endah, said the use of smartphones and digital technology among the elderly presents many challenges. "They can only pick up the phone, and then they get bored. It's better to interact," she said.
According to Dwi, collecting pensions for the elderly is a highly anticipated monthly activity. It provides a forum for interaction and communication among retirees from government offices. "They can chat and ask their friends about various things," Dwi said.
Taspen app users and digital literacy experts suggested adjustments to the system's features. Ayu noted that not all retirees live with relatives who can help them log in. "The technology could be simpler," she said.
Santi Indra Astuti said the Andal by Taspen application needs to be adapted to the conditions and needs of its users. She emphasized that Taspen needs to continue expanding its non-digital feature options. "Non-digital service options are a necessity to serve the interests of all users," Santi said.
Jani Purnawanty, from Airlangga University, said the state-owned enterprise should not view non-digital systems as a setback. According to her, Taspen must create inclusive services for all users. "Don't see it as a step backwards if there are still non-digital services, especially for the elderly," she said.
In a written response, Taspen Corporate Secretary Henra explained that 78 per cent of pension recipients already use the Andal by Taspen application. Meanwhile, 20.79 percent of customers still prefer to disburse their pensions by visiting the nearest bank or post office.
According to Taspen, the authentication failure rate for app users was around 3.73 per cent in November 2025. Taspen urges pension recipients who encounter difficulties accessing the application to visit their nearest branch office. "We continue to monitor and evaluate this percentage," said Henra.
According to Henra, the company realizes that not all participants have adequate devices and a stable internet signal. Taspen provides an app as an additional feature to make things easier for participants, but not the only way to withdraw their pensions.
One service already in place is home delivery of pension funds for customers who are sick or have limited mobility. "We designed this service model so that no participant is left behind," Henra said in a written response in December 2025.
