The association between pension and mental health of older adults: Evidence from China

In the context of high coverage of social pension insurance in China, there is a lack of comprehensive empirical research on how different pension levels affect the mental health of older individuals. Drawing on nationally representative data from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, this study empirically examines the link between pension and the mental health of older adults in China. Furthermore, a three-step approach and Karlson-Holm-Breen decomposition method were employed to estimate the mediating effect of social activities. The results indicate that pension level is related to older adults' mental health. Further analysis demonstrates that pensions mitigate depressive symptoms among older Chinese adults through increased participation in social activities. The positive association between pension and mental health is more pronounced among older adults without wage income. Our study provides evidence for China's efforts to refine the social pension insurance system and gradually enhance pension benefits.