Extraordinary old-age pension for a spouse whose husband is insured under the Old-Age and Survivors' Insurance (AVS)

Facts

Simone M., born on November 23, 1914, and a Swiss national since her marriage to Paul M. in 1948, was granted a basic old-age pension as of December 1, 1976. The Geneva Cantonal Compensation Fund allocated her an extraordinary pension of 500 francs per month, as the ordinary pension to which she would have been entitled was only 455 francs per month.

Simone M. appealed against this decision, arguing that she should have been entitled to a pension higher than 500 francs, given that her husband had contributed to the AVS since 1948. The AVS Appeals Commission of the Canton of Geneva upheld the appeal and referred the case back to the compensation fund for a new calculation of the ordinary pension, taking into account the insurance period since Simone M.'s marriage in 1948.

The Geneva Cantonal Compensation Fund then appealed against this decision to the Federal Insurance Court.

Considerations

The Federal Insurance Court considered that the extension of the insured status of the husband to the wife is not justified when the husband's compulsory insurance coverage depends solely on the exercise of a gainful activity in Switzerland (Art. 1 para. 1 let. b LAVS). Indeed, the husband's place of work does not constitute as direct a point of attachment for the wife as the place of domicile.

Consequently, Simone M. was not insured during…