More people on old age supplementary benefits live at home, fewer in a home
In December 2025, 188’173 people on old age supplementary benefits lived at home, up 13.3% from 166’069 in December 2019, or 22’104 more people.
These are supplementary benefits (Ergänzungsleistungen, EL) paid to people who draw an AHV old age pension, called old age EL (EL zur AV) in this study.
Over the same period, the number living in a home fell by 12.1%, from 49’703 to 43’680, or 6’023 fewer people.
In total, 215’772 people received old age EL in December 2019 and 231’853 in December 2025. The share living at home rose from 77.0% to 81.2%, up 4.2 percentage points.
Helpore compares December 2019 with December 2025; the table itself runs from 1998. No other year was analysed.
The figures come from the supplementary benefits statistics of the Federal Social Insurance Office (BSV), published by the Federal Statistical Office (BFS) in table px-x-1305020000_101, last updated on 19 May 2026.
What the counts include
Each figure counts the people receiving EL in December of that year. The 2019 and 2025 figures are two separate headcounts, not the same people followed over time. Someone who received EL earlier in a year but not in December is not counted.
A spouse who lives with the entitled person is counted too.
Living at home says where a person lives. It does not say whether the person has a need for help, and it does not show who is eligible for the 2028 EL home help reform.
The statistics do not record reasons for these changes, nationally or by canton, and this study gives none.
In December 2025, the share at home ranged from 65.6% to 90.2% across cantons
Like the national figures, the canton figures count old age EL only. The share living at home ranged from 65.6% in Uri to 90.2% in Ticino, against 81.2% for Switzerland as a whole.
From 2019 to 2025, the number living in a home fell in 25 of 26 cantons. In Jura it rose by 1.0%, from 619 to 625. The number living at home rose in 24 of 26 cantons and fell in Ticino and Appenzell Innerrhoden.
Geneva
In Geneva, the number of people on old age EL living at home rose from 8’663 in December 2019 to 12’940 in December 2025. That rise of 49.4% is the largest of any canton, and its 4’277 people make up 19.3% of the national rise of 22’104.
| Canton | At home 2019 | At home 2025 | Share at home 2019 | Share at home 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich | 22’644 | 25’792 | 74.1% | 78.6% |
| Bern | 24’594 | 26’914 | 75.3% | 79.5% |
| Lucerne | 8’578 | 9’353 | 74.7% | 77.3% |
| Uri | 504 | 537 | 61.8% | 65.6% |
| Schwyz | 2’040 | 2’137 | 70.7% | 74.9% |
| Obwalden | 519 | 558 | 68.5% | 73.8% |
| Nidwalden | 466 | 589 | 67.6% | 76.3% |
| Glarus | 821 | 928 | 76.4% | 80.6% |
| Zug | 1’253 | 1’355 | 70.9% | 74.9% |
| Fribourg | 6’486 | 7’378 | 77.1% | 81.9% |
| Solothurn | 5’616 | 6’547 | 77.4% | 81.5% |
| Basel-Stadt | 6’397 | 7’391 | 77.3% | 81.7% |
| Basel-Landschaft | 4’746 | 5’739 | 72.6% | 80.8% |
| Schaffhausen | 1’419 | 1’669 | 72.7% | 76.3% |
| Appenzell Ausserrhoden | 854 | 930 | 69.3% | 74.4% |
| Appenzell Innerrhoden | 162 | 149 | 67.2% | 72.0% |
| St. Gallen | 10’035 | 10’887 | 74.1% | 77.8% |
| Graubünden | 2’763 | 3’073 | 70.2% | 76.5% |
| Aargau | 9’298 | 11’227 | 77.2% | 81.6% |
| Thurgau | 4’005 | 4’787 | 76.6% | 80.3% |
| Ticino | 13’900 | 13’426 | 89.2% | 90.2% |
| Vaud | 17’840 | 19’779 | 81.4% | 85.0% |
| Valais | 4’813 | 5’531 | 82.6% | 85.6% |
| Neuchâtel | 5’269 | 5’872 | 79.4% | 82.9% |
| Geneva | 8’663 | 12’940 | 75.7% | 84.1% |
| Jura | 2’384 | 2’685 | 79.4% | 81.1% |
| Switzerland | 166’069 | 188’173 | 77.0% | 81.2% |
Helpore and households at home
These statistics count where people on old age EL live. They do not show who does the household work at home, or how it is arranged.
Staying at home takes more than nursing. It also takes the work of keeping a household running.
Gilberto de la Fuente, Helpore
Helpore is for households that employ a Helper at home. The household is always the employer: it agrees the work and the wage with its Helper. Helpore Admin Light and Helpore Admin are optional.
Frequently asked questions
Does living at home mean a need for help?
No. The table records place of residence only, and the number at home is not the number eligible for the 2028 EL home help reform.
Which supplementary benefits does the study count?
Old age EL only, nationally and by canton. Survivors' EL and disability EL are left out.
Do the figures follow the same people from 2019 to 2025?
No. They are two separate December headcounts, and the table holds counts only.
Do the counts include spouses?
Yes, if they live with the entitled person, so a couple counts as two people.
How much did Geneva change?
Geneva had the largest rise of any canton in people at home: 49.4%, from 8’663 to 12’940. The statistics give no reason.
Method and limits
The source is BFS table px-x-1305020000_101, the BSV statistics of supplementary benefits to old age and survivors' insurance (AHV) and disability insurance (IV), last updated on 19 May 2026. The table runs from 1998 to 2025.
The table counts adult EL recipients in December of each year, including the spouse of the entitled person when the two live together. The unit is persons. The table gives two places of residence: at home (Zu Hause) and in a home (Im Heim). The figures are totals across nationality and sex.
All figures, national and by canton, are for old age EL (EL zur AV). Survivors' EL and disability EL are not included.
Change in % is the 2025 count minus the 2019 count, divided by the 2019 count. The share at home is the number at home divided by the number at home plus the number in a home. The change in percentage points is the 2025 share minus the 2019 share, calculated from unrounded shares, so it can differ by 0.1 from the difference of the displayed shares. Results are rounded to one decimal for display.
The table reports by EL office (EL-Stelle). Each of the 26 offices matches one canton, and the 26 cantons add up exactly to the Swiss old age EL totals. Only December 2019 and December 2025 are compared.
Figures that combine old age EL with disability EL are not comparable with these counts.