Facts
Roger [D.], born in 1933, was employed at Compagnie A. from October 1, 1982 to April 30, 1986 and was insured with the Cooperative for the Insurance of Personnel of Swiss Transport Companies (ASCOOP) during this time. On January 29, 1986, he was dismissed effective March 31, 1986, but the notice period was extended to April 30, 1986 due to incapacity for work from February 26 to March 9, 1986. ASCOOP calculated Roger D.'s vested benefit entitlement to be 8,328 Swiss francs, consisting of his savings of 7,792 Swiss francs, an entry capital of 372 Swiss francs, and interest of 164 Swiss francs. Roger [D.] filed a claim for an additional sum of 3,962 Swiss francs, which he claimed as employer contributions for the period from January 1, 1985 to April 30, 1986.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that in calculating the vested benefit entitlement of a pension fund that provides benefits exceeding the statutory minimum (so-called "envelope fund"), two values must be compared: 1) the value of the retirement assets accrued under the BVG and 2) the value of the employee's claim under Art. 331a or 331b of the Swiss Code of Obligations (OR). The higher amount must be paid out to the insured person. It must be taken into account that for the period before January 1, 1985, only the retirement assets from that date onwards are relevant, while for the period before that, the employee's claim under the OR must be calculated.
In the present case, ASCOOP calculated the vested benefit entitlement up to March 31, 1986, while Roger [D.] and the Federal…