Facts
G., born in 1964, applied for disability benefits from the Disability Insurance (IV) in 2003. The IV office of the Canton of St. Gallen determined a degree of disability of 26% using the mixed method, assuming that the insured person was 30% restricted in household management, which was weighted at 88%, and had no impairment in the employment activity adapted to the disability, which was weighted at 12%. Consequently, it denied the entitlement to a disability pension.
The insured person filed a complaint against the objection decision. The Insurance Court of the Canton of St. Gallen set aside the objection decision and referred the matter back to the IV office for further clarification and a new decision. It took the view that the share of the employment sector should be set at a minimum of 50% from January 1, 2006.
The IV office filed a public law appeal with the request to set aside the cantonal decision.
Considerations
The Federal Court notes that the finding of the cantonal court, according to which it would have been reasonable for the insured person to pursue at least 50% employment in addition to household management without health impairment, is based on an incorrect legal concept of disability and a misunderstanding of the mixed method.
The mixed method aims to assess the degree of disability as…