Team USA to Get First Permanent Pension Under $100M Gift of Ross Stevens

A total of 232 athletes will represent the US at the upcoming Olympics in Milan Cortina, marking the country’s largest-ever Winter Games roster. But that’s not the only way Team USA is making history this year. The team will also become the first team of American Olympians and Paralympians to receive retirement benefits, thanks to a donation from financier Ross Stevens.

Stevens, CEO and founder of asset manager Stone Ridge Holdings Group, last year pledged $100 million to help the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) strengthen the economic stability of athletes through the newly created Stevens Financial Security Awards. Starting this year and continuing through at least the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, all participating American athletes will be eligible for $200,000—or more—in retirement income.

“I do not believe that financial insecurity should prevent our nation’s elite athletes from moving to new frontiers of excellence,” said Stevens, whose company will match employee contributions to the Stevens Awards, when it was announced last year.

Historically, Team USA athletes have not received financial compensation for participating in the Olympics and Paralympics beyond the prize money of winning a medal. Gold medalists receive $38,000, silver medalists $23,000 and bronze medalists $15,000. A number of other countries also offer incentives, cash and so on, for access to the platform. Free houses have been given to medalists from Kazakhstan, while some Austrians have received Philharmonic coins, and Malaysia has been known to give cars to athletes.

But winning medals alone is not enough to sustain an athlete financially—especially when an Olympic career is often short-lived. The average retirement age for track and field athletes, for example, is just 32, according to the 2024 study.

That’s where the Stevens Awards come in. Going forward, US Olympians and Paralympians will be eligible to receive $100,000 in benefits either 20 years after their first qualifying Games, or when they turn 45 years of age, whichever comes later. That’s on top of an additional $100,000 set aside for families or designated beneficiaries of athletes upon their death. Given those rules, this year’s Team USA squad will earn $46.4 million from the new system.

They can do a lot more if they compete in the upcoming games. The Stevens awards include a so-called “multiplier effect” that applies $200,000 in post-retirement benefits to the Olympics or Paralympic Games an athlete participates in throughout their career. That means a person who enters three games can earn $600,000. The clause is intended to encourage athletes to return to more sports—a move that could lead to more US medals, given that 60 percent of the nation’s track and field winners have previously participated in previous Games, according to the USOPC.

While some Olympians, such as famous NBA players, earn hundreds of millions of dollars in salaries, signing bonuses and endorsements, many others struggle with low-performing careers. More than 26 percent of elite athletes earn less than $15,000 a year, according to a recent report. To ensure that the Stevens Awards help those with financial need, athletes who already make $1 million or more per year are eligible.

The US now joins a small group of countries whose athletes receive retirement benefits. Russia and China both provide pensions to Olympians, as does South Korea, which for five decades has provided monthly living pensions to medal winners based on their ranking.

The idea of ​​supporting Olympians and Paralympians after their competitive careers seems to be gaining momentum around the world. Indonesia, which briefly introduced a pension policy in 2016 before scrapping it the following year, is reportedly looking to revive a similar system. Australia, meanwhile, last year launched a fund that will provide retirement allowances of 32,000 Australian dollars ($22,500) per game, to be paid in installments over 16 years after athletes compete.