Facts
A. worked as a police officer for the municipality of X. In this capacity, he was affiliated with the Intercommunal Pension Fund (CIP). From 22 January 1996, he presented a total and permanent incapacity to work. La Vaudoise Générale Compagnie d'Assurances then paid him daily allowances under a collective loss of earnings insurance contract in case of illness concluded by the employer. The CIP informed A. that it recognized his right to a temporary, then permanent, monthly disability pension. However, the CIP refused to pay these benefits, on the grounds that the daily allowances paid by La Vaudoise exceeded the insured annual salary. La Vaudoise then reduced the amount of its benefits, considering that in the event of over-indemnification, it had priority to reduce its benefits. A. then brought an action before the Insurance Court of the Canton of Vaud, which upheld his claim. The CIP appealed against this judgment.Considerations
1. The Federal Insurance Court has jurisdiction to hear this dispute, which concerns the right of the pension institution to reduce its benefits due to the intervention of a private insurer. 2. There is no general principle prohibiting over-indemnification in the field of social insurance governed by federal law. However, the law and the ordinance authorize pension funds to provide in their regulatory provisions that the right to benefits is deferred as long as the insured receives a full salary or daily allowances from health insurance. 3. The CIP cannot reduce its benefits under the mandatory occupational pension scheme, as the daily allowances paid by La Vaudoise do not constitute income to be taken into account within the meaning of Art. 24 OPO 2. 4. Regarding the more extensive occupational pension scheme, Art. 43 of the CIP's statutes provides for the possibility of reducing benefits in the event of a combination with those of other insurances. This provision also applies to loss of earnings insurance…