Up until the beginning of the 1990s, the costs for supplementary AHV/IV benefits amounted to around 0.35 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Costs have risen on average by five per cent per year since 1994 and, in 2014, they reached a total of 4.7 billion francs, or 0.73 per cent of GDP (F20). On the one hand, this rise can be attributed to demographic trends and, on the other, to legislative changes to disability insurance (IV) and supplementary benefits. The sharp increase in supplementary IV benefits since the 1990s can also be traced back to changes in legislation. In 2014, around 300,000 people received AHV or IV supplementary benefits, corresponding to 12 per cent of old age pension recipients and 40 per cent of disability pension recipients (F21).

Figures

F20 Expenditures of AHV/IV supplementary assistance benefits as a percentage of gross domestic product, 1966-2014

F21 Recipients of AHV and IV supplementary assistance benefits, 1966-2014

(12/2015)