Reduction of the supplementary pension for members transferred from another pension fund

Facts

K. (born in 1951) worked at Z. AG until the end of 2000 and was insured with their pension fund. On January 1, 2001, he moved to Y. AG (now: X. AG) and thus to their pension fund. On February 1, 2011, K. was retired early. The pension fund of X. AG informed him that in addition to an old-age pension of CHF 3,739, he would receive a supplementary pension of CHF 1,000 per month until the age of 65.

K. filed a lawsuit with the Social Insurance Court of the Canton of Basel-Stadt with the aim of receiving a higher supplementary pension of CHF 1,500 per month. The cantonal court awarded him an increased supplementary pension of CHF 500 for five years.

The pension fund of X. AG filed an appeal with the Federal Supreme Court, requesting that the contested decision be overturned and the lawsuit dismissed.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court states that the disputed supplementary pension belongs to the further pension provision and was qualified as assured both in terms of its existence and its amount. In principle, pension institutions can only provide benefits that can be financed with the available capital. In the event of underfunding, they are obliged to take remedial measures.

The Federal Supreme Court concludes that the reduction of the supplementary pension…