Facts
L., born in 1971, had been receiving disability insurance benefits since childhood. With effect from April 1, 1992, she received a full disability pension. In the course of a pension review procedure, the disability insurance learned that L. had been placed in institutional care under Article 43(1)(1) of the Swiss Criminal Code (StGB) at the F. family home since January 18, 1993. As a result, the St. Gallen Cantonal Social Insurance Office (SVA) retroactively suspended the disability pension as of February 1, 1993 and demanded the repayment of the pensions received during that period.
L.'s guardian later contacted the social welfare office of the municipality of residence, as the institutional care had been ordered not due to social dangerousness, but due to L.'s need for treatment. The SVA then re-examined the case and concluded that the pension suspension had been unjustified. It therefore ordered the resumption of pension payments as of April 1, 1998.
L.'s new guardian filed a complaint against this decision and demanded that the pension be retroactively paid from April 1, 1993. The cantonal insurance court upheld the complaint.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court confirmed the decision of the cantonal court. It stated that the original pension suspension and reclamation of pensions for the period from February 1993 to February 1995 were materially unlawful and undoubtedly incorrect in the sense of the law on revision. Since this did not involve a specific aspect of disability insurance law, but an erroneous classification of the institutional care, Article 88bis(1)(c) of the Disability Insurance Ordinance (IVV) did not apply.
Instead, the general provisions on retroactive payments under Article 48(1) of the Disability Insurance Act (IVG), Article 85(1) of the Disability Insurance Ordinance (IVV) and Article 77 of the Old Age…