Right to a child's pension in case of early retirement

Facts

I., born in 1944, was employed in a company affiliated with the pension fund of company X. until his early retirement on May 1, 2005. The pension fund refused to pay him, in addition to the undisputed old-age pension, child's pensions for his two daughters born in 1990 and 1991, before he reached the ordinary retirement age of 65 in 2009. The Administrative Court of the Canton of Zug upheld I.'s claim and found that he was entitled to two child's pensions for retirees from the pension fund, within the framework of the minimum benefits under the OPA, for the period from May 1, 2005 until the ordinary retirement age according to the legislation on the AVS. The pension fund appealed against this cantonal decision.

Considerations

According to case law, in the mandatory system, pension funds must provide for all categories of benefits prescribed by the OPA, including the child's pension under Art. 17 OPA. This also applies in the case of early retirement, as the provision of Art. 13 para. 2 OPA, which allows the regulations of the pension institutions to provide that the entitlement to old-age benefits arises with the termination of gainful employment, is part of the mandatory minimum provisions.

Even if the regulations of the pension fund provide for an age of early retirement, the fact that it has not adapted the conversion rate according to Art. 14 OPA does not have the…