Facts
R. (born in 1943) was a lecturer at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) starting from the academic year 1980/1981. On May 10, 2004, the EPFL informed R. that his position would not be renewed for the academic year 2004/2005, due to a conflict of interest. A dispute over the legal nature of the relationship between R. and the EPFL was brought to the Federal Supreme Court, which considered in 2006 that R. should have been granted an employment contract of indefinite duration, in accordance with the rules governing social insurance.
By decision of November 27, 2007, the EPFL determined that R. should have been affiliated with a pension fund since October 1, 1980, the date from which he had an employment contract of indefinite duration. The EPFL forwarded R.'s file to the Federal Pension Fund PUBLICA (PUBLICA) so that it could examine the issue of retroactive affiliation.
After several procedures, PUBLICA informed R. in 2011 that the amount of his old-age pension, to which he was entitled from May 1, 2008, was 412 francs 35 per month. R. then filed an action against PUBLICA and the EPFL, concluding that he should be retroactively affiliated as of October 1, 1980 and that the arrears of pension should be paid.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court partially upheld R.'s appeal. R.'s affiliation with PUBLICA must be recognized retroactively, at least from January 1, 1985, in accordance with the applicable legal provisions. However, the claims for contributions for the period from October 1, 1980 to December 31, 1998 are time-barred, in application of the case law of ATF 136 V 73. Consequently, the calculation of R.'s old-age pension cannot take into account this period, but only the years…