Net expenditure amounted to CHF2.5 billion ($2.78 billion) – a decrease of 9.2% compared to the previous year, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said on Friday. At 2.9%, the rate of social assistance was lower than ever before.
The nominal decrease of CHF253 million in 2022 is the sharpest in years. According to the FSO, the drop is closely linked to the lower number of social assistance recipients (-3.1%) as well as the decline in average annual net expenditure per recipient (-6.2%).
The FSO lists several factors influencing the decline, including the favourable economic and labour market situation, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic – which had no direct impact on social assistance expenditure in 2022, it said.
Overall, the expenditure of CHF2.5 billion on economic social assistance corresponds to 1.2% of total expenditure on all social benefits, the FSO said. According to the overall accounts, this totalled CHF207.8 billion in 2022.
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How Swiss welfare works
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If you are unable to provide for yourself or your family in Switzerland, there are systems in place to help.
More money was spent on so-called supplementary benefits, which help those whose pensions or incomes are not sufficient. According to the FSO, the increase compared to the previous year was CHF51 million, or 0.9%. A total of CHF5.5 billion was paid out in such supplementary benefits in 2022.
Overall, public spending on means-tested social benefits to combat poverty fell by CHF207 million to CHF8.6 billion, corresponding to a decrease of 2.4% on the previous year. In total, 800,000 people – or 9.2% of Switzerland’s permanent resident population – received at least one such benefit.
Adapted from German by DeepL/kc
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