Facts
A., born in 1957, was employed by Helvetia Swiss Insurance Company AG from June 1, 2004 to December 31, 2017. The employment relationship was terminated by the employer, and A. was retired early as of January 1, 2018. In a wage certificate dated February 23, 2018, Helvetia reported that it had paid its former employee a retroactive wage payment of CHF 43,807.15 for the year 2017. The Compensation Fund "Insurances" then levied social security contributions, including unemployment insurance contributions of CHF 963.75 at a contribution rate of 2.2%.
Helvetia objected to the application of the 2.2% contribution rate and argued that the retroactive wage payment for 2017 should only be subject to a 1% contribution (ALV2 contribution "Solidarity"), as A. had already reached the annual maximum limit of CHF 148,200 for unemployment insurance in the relevant year. The cantonal insurance court upheld Helvetia's appeal and remanded the case to the Compensation Fund for a new determination of the unemployment insurance contribution.
The Federal Social Insurance Office filed an appeal in public law matters against the cantonal court's decision and requested that the objection decision of the Compensation Fund dated March 12, 2018 be confirmed.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that the question of the contribution obligation is to be assessed according to the time of employment, while the contribution collection depends on the time of income realization. Retroactive wage payments constitute a form of subsequent wage payment, for which the question of the contribution obligation is governed by the regulations applicable to the period for which the retroactive payment is intended (principle of determination).
The administrative practice according to the guidelines of the Federal Social Insurance Office provides that the realization principle…