Facts
M., born in 1950, a lawyer, took up his position as Deputy Director for the W. Group of Companies on 1 March 1992 and was insured with the W. Pension Fund from that time. Upon conclusion of the employment contract, the parties agreed that M. should reach the maximum old-age pension rate of 60% of the insured annual salary. For this, a capital of CHF 285,601.30 was required, of which M. could contribute CHF 188,304.10 from previous pension arrangements. The employer took over the financing of the remaining amount of CHF 97,297.20 in the form of monthly additional contributions until the age of 65, by half.
After termination of the employment relationship on 30 June 1993, the Pension Fund calculated a vested termination benefit of CHF 234,667.20, which did not include the contributions made monthly by the employer towards the purchase. M. then demanded an increase of the vested termination benefit by around CHF 50,000.-- plus interest, which corresponds to the half share owed by the employer of the purchase sum.
Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court states that the legal relationships between employer, employee and pension institution must be clearly distinguished between the employment contract and the pension contract. While the employment contract exists between the employer and the employee, the pension contract involves the employee and the legally independent pension institution.
The regulations of the Pension Fund provide that the financing of the purchase of additional pension percentages is solely the responsibility of…