Facts
M., born on March 31, 1938, worked as a caretaker at the X day center since March 1, 1992. On January 28, 1998, she terminated her employment contract effective March 31, 1998 and received a one-time payment of 19,830 Swiss francs from the pension fund Y. On April 15, 1998, M. applied for unemployment benefits, which the Industry, Trade and Labor Office of the Canton of Aargau (KIGA) rejected on December 2, 1998 due to a lack of contribution period.
M. filed a complaint with the Insurance Court of the Canton of Aargau, which found that M. had been retired early based on the regulations of the pension fund Y. However, the court remanded the case to the administration to examine whether M. had been employed since April 1, 1998 and thus fulfilled the contribution period.
M. filed an administrative court appeal and claimed that she had been retired early due to mandatory regulations within the occupational pension scheme, so that the contribution period completed before the early retirement should be credited.
Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court states that according to Art. 12 para. 1 AVIV, only the contribution-based employment exercised after retirement is credited as contribution period for insured persons who were retired before reaching the AHV retirement age. According to Art. 12 para. 2 AVIV, this does not apply if the insured person was retired early for economic reasons or due to mandatory regulations within the occupational pension scheme and acquires a claim to old-age benefits that is lower than the compensation they would be entitled to under Art. 22 AVIG.
The court finds that M. terminated her employment relationship herself and thus withdrew from the pension fund. She was therefore not retired early due to mandatory regulations within the occupational pension…