Facts
The case concerns a person, M., born in 1958, who began receiving supplementary benefits and cantonal assistance in July 1990. In June 1991, the social contributions office of the canton of Basel-Stadt demanded repayment of 6'948 Swiss francs, corresponding to the supplementary benefits unduly received between July 1990 and June 1991. This decision was motivated by a new assessment of the supplementary benefits after M. informed the office of a letter from the pension fund notifying that she would receive a retroactive disability pension of 6'947 Swiss francs per year, effective from February 1989, which would result in a retroactive payment of 16'791 Swiss francs for the period from February 1989 to June 1991.
The cantonal appeals commission for compensation funds of the canton of Basel rejected M.'s complaint against this decision. However, after M. requested an exemption from repayment in April 1992, the cantonal appeals commission finally annulled the decision and granted the exemption. The social contributions office of the canton of Basel-Stadt then appealed to the Federal Insurance Court.
Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court examined whether the decision of the cantonal appeals commission was in accordance with federal law. It recalled that the exemption from repayment of unduly received supplementary benefits is governed by Articles 27 of the Ordinance on Supplementary Benefits (DRJPO) and 47 of the Federal Act on Old-Age and Survivors' Insurance (OASIA). Exemption is possible if the recipient of the supplementary benefits acted in good faith and if repayment would cause a difficult situation.
The Federal Insurance Court considered that M. had acted in good faith, as she was not aware of her right to the disability pension at the time she received the…