Social assistance

All of the cantons provide social assistance benefits to individuals and families who are not able to make ends meet.

The purpose of social assistance:

• Ensure that basic necessities are met;
• Help people to help themselves by encouraging them to take charge of their own lives and stand on their own two feet;
• Keep people in society and help them find jobs.

Social assistance system and benefits are regulated by cantonal social assistance laws, which in turn are based on Articles 12 and 115 of the Swiss Federal Constitution.

The means-tested social benefits inventory (available in German , in French  and in Italian ) provides an overview of the various means-tested social benefits granted by the cantons.

The FSO produces annual statistics on recipients of social assistance benefits in all 26 Swiss cantons. These statistics describe the sociodemographic structure of benefit recipients, their family and financial situation and indicates how much and how long they received benefits. These statistics also enable us to identify population groups that are more likely to become recipients of social assistance benefits. Click on the following link for an overview of the key findings.

For an overview of the state of social assistance and asylum-related finances at the federal level, click here.

Since 2007, the FSO has also been analysing data on 3 types of means-tested social benefits provided prior to social assistance (e.g. advance payment of alimony and maternity benefits).

If you would like to receive more detailed information (statistical questionnaire, manual, newsletter) in relation to statistics on recipients of social insurance benefits, click here (only in French and German).