This paper examines why tax incentives fail to stimulate participation in China's third-pillar commercial pension insurance, emphasizing the role of rational inattention. Using household survey data from China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) spanning 2014-2022 and a difference-in-differences-in-differences (DDD) design, we find that pilot policy generated a statistically insignificant average effect on participation, with rational inattention - proxied by financial literacy - explaining much of its ineffectiveness. We develop a dynamic consumption-portfolio model featuring costly information acquisition, and then resolve limitations of standard models through a dynamic framework with distinct savings channels and policy-focused rational inattention. The models show that rational inattention distorts perceptions of tax benefits and wage growth, raising participation costs, while multiple savings channels dilute incentives. Only households with higher financial literacy substantially respond to the policy. Our results reveal how cognitive frictions undermine pension reform and offer implications for designing behaviorally-informed retirement schemes.

The aging population is intensifying, and solving the problem of elderly care is urgent. This article is based on CHFS (2019) survey data, and empirical research has found that commercial pension insurance significantly promotes households' allocation of risky financial assets. The mechanism is tested using household risk perception and investment risk preference as mediating variables. In addition, through heterogeneity testing, it was found that the positive effect of commercial pension insurance on the allocation of risky financial assets is more significant in rural households with household registration, two sets of housing, and households in the northeast.

The aging population is expanding globally, and addressing the challenges of elderly care is urgent. Using the 2019 China Household Finance Survey data, this study finds that commercial pension insurance significantly promotes households’ allocation of risky financial assets. We test the mechanisms using household risk perception and investment risk preference as mediating variables. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive effect of commercial pension insurance on risky financial asset allocation is more significant in rural households with household registration, those with two sets of housing, and households in the northeast. The research findings of this article aim to promote the continuous improvement of China’s elderly care system and provide important empirical evidence for the formulation of relevant policies.