Facts
The case concerns the claim of widower Heinz K. for a widower's pension following the death of his wife Rita K., who was insured as a primary school teacher in the canton of St. Gallen with the Cantonal Teachers' Insurance Fund (KLVK).
The KLVK had rejected Heinz K.'s request for a lump-sum payment in the amount of the withdrawal compensation, as the requirements for a widower's pension under Art. 41 of the KLVK Ordinance were not met. Heinz K. then filed an appeal and a lawsuit, which were, however, dismissed by the Department of Education and the Cantonal Insurance Court.
Heinz K. subsequently filed a constitutional appeal with the Federal Court, which was transferred to the Federal Insurance Court.
Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court concluded that the different treatment of widows' and widowers' pensions in Art. 41 of the KLVK Ordinance violates the principle of equal treatment under Art. 4 (2) of the Federal Constitution. While widows are practically entitled to a pension without any prerequisites, the widower is only granted a pension entitlement under narrow conditions.
The court held that this gender-specific inequality cannot be justified by biological or functional differences. Rather, it is a purely gender-specific differentiation, which has not been permissible since the enshrinement of gender equality in the Federal…