Facts
[N.], born in 1957, was insured with the Pension Fund of Basel-Stadt (hereinafter: Pension Fund) since August 1, 1983. On July 31, 2007, she and [B.], born in 1961, registered their partnership in the Swiss civil status register. From October 1, 2008, [N.] received a full disability pension from the Pension Fund. [N.] passed away on July 29, 2009.
Due to the death, the Pension Fund granted [B.] a one-time lump-sum payment of CHF 72,723.60 on August 18, 2009. There was no entitlement to a surviving partner's pension, as the registered partnership had not lasted for at least five years. In the objection decision of November 25, 2009, the Administrative Board of the Pension Fund confirmed the decision of August 18, 2009. The reason given was that the requirement of at least five years of continuous shared household was not met due to the lack of a common domicile.
On June 23, 2010, [B.] filed a lawsuit with the Social Insurance Court of Basel-Stadt and requested the retroactive payment of a surviving partner's pension from August 1, 2009. The cantonal court upheld the claim.
The Pension Fund then filed an appeal in public law matters with the Federal Supreme Court, requesting the reversal of the lower court's decision and the dismissal of the claim.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court upheld the appeal. It concluded that the requirement of a shared household according to § 38 para. 1 lit. b of the Law on the Pension Fund of Basel-Stadt (PKG) was not met, as the respondent and the deceased insured person did not have a common domicile.
The Federal Supreme Court stated that the term "shared household" according to the wording, the legislative…