Switzerland. Supplementary benefits – what are they and who receives them?

Reducing financial support for the country’s poorest citizens is triggering heated debates in parliament, with no final decision expected this session. State expenditure has more than doubled since 2000 on so-called supplementary benefits for people who can’t get by on their pension alone. What’s at stake? The almost CHF5 billion ($5.1 billion) in supplementary benefitsexternal link that the state pays to more than 320,000 pensioners a year. What’s the purpose of supplementary benefits? According to the federal constitution, the old-age and disability pension...