Facts
This decision concerns a dispute between A. and the Compensation Fund for the Swiss Banking Sector, as well as the Administrative Court of the Canton of Fribourg. The main issue is whether, when the conditions for the capping of individual pensions for married couples are met, the administration must notify both pension decisions to each spouse.
Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court has already recognized in a previous judgment (ATF 126 V 455) that the spouse of the recipient of a decision rendered under the Old Age and Survivors' Insurance Act (OASIA) has the right to file an administrative appeal if and to the extent that the administrative act has a direct or potential impact on the amount of their own old-age pension. When the spouse is affected in this way, they are also entitled, to the extent that they are aggrieved, to file an administrative appeal against the decision of the cantonal appeal authority, regardless of whether they have contested the decision or not.
In the present case, the Federal Court emphasizes that, given the close link between the capped individual pensions of the spouses (an increase in one generally leading to a decrease in the other), both spouses are directly affected by the decision regarding the pension of the other spouse. From a procedural point of view, it is therefore necessary that, in cases where the conditions for the capping are met, the administration notify both pension decisions to each…