Facts
Margrith Ackermann, born in 1937, was first married to Arthur Ackermann. During their marriage, the Ackermann couple had taken Jörg K. and Ursula I. into their household as foster children. Arthur Ackermann died on March 21, 1968. From April 1, 1968, the Compensation Fund for Trade and Industry in St. Gallen granted each of the two children a simple orphan's pension and Margrith Ackermann a one-time widow's settlement. On June 5, 1970, Margrith Ackermann married J. S. Together with her second husband, she adopted the two foster children on July 5, 1973. On September 27, 1977, this marriage was divorced. Margrith Ackermann then applied for a widow's pension, which was rejected by the Compensation Fund.
Considerations
The Federal Court states that according to Art. 23 para. 1 lit. c AHVG, there is only a claim to a widow's pension if the widow had foster children in the household at the time of widowhood, who acquired a claim to an orphan's pension due to the death of the husband, and these children were adopted by the widow as her own. Since Margrith Ackermann adopted the foster children only after her remarriage together with her second husband, she does not meet these requirements.
The Federal Court clarifies that a "widow" within the meaning of the law is to be understood as a wife after the death of her husband, as long as she has not remarried. A woman who has remarried after her widowhood is therefore no longer considered a widow. The fact…