Claim of the Divorced Spouse to a Widow's Pension from the Occupational Pension Scheme

Facts

The respondent F. was married to H. until their divorce on 30 November 2006. In the divorce judgment, H. was obliged to pay F. a temporary maintenance contribution until September 2018. H. passed away on 28 January 2009, whereupon F. applied to the Pension Fund Energie (PKE) for a widow's pension. The PKE rejected the application, whereupon F. filed a lawsuit with the Insurance Court of the Canton of Solothurn. The Insurance Court upheld the claim and obliged the PKE to pay F. a widow's pension retroactively from 1 February 2009 until and including September 2018. The PKE then filed a complaint with the Federal Supreme Court.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court states that the wording of Art. 20 para. 1 lit. b OPO 2 is not unambiguous and allows for various interpretations. However, a systematic, teleological and historical interpretation shows that a maintenance payment awarded on a temporary basis in the divorce judgment is also sufficient as a prerequisite for the claim to a widow's pension from the occupational pension scheme. The legislator intended the survivors' pension for divorced spouses to compensate for the care deficit that arises from the death of the maintenance debtor. This care deficit can also occur in the case of a temporary…