Facts
[A.], of Portuguese nationality, has worked in Switzerland since 1981 and has resided there continuously since March 17, 1989. He was granted a full disability pension for the period from October 1, 1997 to April 30, 1999, calculated taking into account his contribution periods completed in Portugal and Switzerland.
In 2008, [A.] filed a new application for disability benefits. The Disability Insurance Office of the Canton of Geneva then granted him a half-disability pension as of January 1, 2009, calculated solely on the basis of his contribution periods in Switzerland. [A.] contested this decision, criticizing the administration for not taking into account his contribution periods completed in Portugal.
The Social Insurance Chamber of the Court of Justice of the Republic and Canton of Geneva upheld A.'s appeal and referred the case back to the Disability Insurance Office for a new calculation of the pension, taking into account the contribution periods completed in Portugal. The office then appealed against this decision to the Federal Court.
Considerations
The Federal Court dismissed the office's appeal. It considered that, in accordance with its established case law in ATF 133 V 329, Art. 20 AFMP does not preclude an insured person from benefiting from a more favorable provision of a bilateral social security agreement, provided that he or she has exercised the right to free movement before the entry into force of the AFMP. This case law, based on European case law, aims to prevent the worker who has…