Decision on the Obligation to Repay Undue Benefits Received under Disability Insurance

Facts

This decision concerns a dispute between an insured person (the claimant) and the compensation fund of the Swiss Association of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs, as well as the AI appeals commission of the canton of Thurgau. The claimant had improperly received disability benefits for a certain period, as he did not timely report the start of his part-time employment. The central issue is whether the obligation to repay these benefits is time-barred.

Considerations

According to case law, in the context of disability insurance, the modification of benefits generally has an ex nunc effect, except in cases of breach of the duty to provide information, where it has a retroactive effect. In the present case, the claimant failed to report the start of his employment, which justifies a retroactive repayment.

However, the Federal Supreme Court considers that the one-year limitation period under Art. 47(2) OASIA has been observed. Although the compensation fund only issued its repayment decision on 30 December 1992, it had become aware of the facts as of 8 August 1991, the date on which it received the employer's questionnaire. The issuance of a…