Rejection of an extraordinary disability pension for a Portuguese national who does not have the same number of years of insurance as persons of her age group

Facts

[P.], a Portuguese national, has suffered from polio since the age of 7 months. She joined her husband in Switzerland in 1996. After devoting herself to her household and children, she wished to resume full-time gainful employment from 1998 onwards. The Cantonal IV Office of Valais denied her right to an ordinary or extraordinary disability pension, on the grounds that she could not claim a minimum contribution period of one year to the Swiss disability insurance at the time of the occurrence of the disability, nor the same number of years of insurance as persons of her age group.

Considerations

The Federal Insurance Court rejected P.'s appeal against this decision. However, it indicated to the insured person that she had the possibility of submitting a new application in order to have her right to a pension examined for the period following the entry into force, on 1 June 2002, of the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP) between Switzerland and the EU.

[P.] submitted such a request, which was rejected by the Cantonal IV Office of Valais. The Insurance Court of the Canton of Valais confirmed this refusal.

The Federal Insurance Court rejected P.'s appeal against this judgment. It considered that Art. 39 para. 1 OASIA in conjunction with Art. 42 para. 1 OASIA, which exclude from the benefit of an extraordinary pension persons who do not have the same…