Facts
On 10 March 1986, the marriage of Margrit and Erwin H.-H. was dissolved by divorce. Erwin H. passed away on 10 May 1988. In the subsequent public inventory, the compensation fund of the canton of Grisons asserted a claim for unpaid social security contributions by Erwin H. in the amount of CHF 16,609.65. By decision of 11 August 1988, the compensation fund granted Margrit H. a monthly widow's pension of CHF 1,200. In the same decision, the fund informed Margrit H. that the outstanding contributions of the deceased husband would be offset against the widow's pension until the debt was extinguished.Considerations
According to case law, personal contributions owed - whether constituting a pension or not - can only be offset against the pension to the extent that the offsetting deduction does not impair the subsistence minimum under debt enforcement law. If the insured person's income does not exceed the subsistence minimum, no offsetting is permitted. However, if the income of the person liable for the contributions exceeds their subsistence minimum, the offsetting can be carried out in a way that does not affect this subsistence minimum. If the offsetting of the entire amount in one go is not possible, partial amounts must be offset monthly.
This rule also applies when offsetting the unpaid personal contributions of a deceased insured person against survivors' pensions. The close legal and technical link between the contribution debt and the pension entitlement is not severed by the divorce, as the calculation bases for the widow's pension applicable to…