Calculation of the insured earnings for the assessment of the pension for seasonal workers

Facts

Francesco F., born in 1960, had been employed as a seasonal worker as a laborer at G. AG since April 1978. On August 25, 1985, he suffered serious injuries in a traffic accident. The Swiss Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA) retroactively awarded him a disability pension from September 1, 1990, based on an earning incapacity of 80% and insured earnings of CHF 45,070.

Francesco F. filed a complaint and requested that the pension calculation be based on an annual income of a foreman between CHF 60,000 and CHF 65,000. The Insurance Court of the Canton of Zurich dismissed the complaint, as the conversion to the normal duration of seasonal employment was correct.

Francesco F. then filed an administrative court appeal with the request to remand the case for a new determination of the relevant annual salary.

Considerations

The Federal Insurance Court stated that according to Art. 15 Paras. 1 and 2 AOIA, the pensions are calculated based on the insured earnings. According to Art. 22 Para. 4 Sentence 3 OAIA, for seasonal workers, the conversion of the salary to the normal duration of seasonal employment is limited.

The court clarified that this regulation for seasonal workers is legal and serves the principle of equivalence between insured earnings and premium regulations. Therefore, the earnings relevant for the pension…