Review of the Entitlement to Helplessness Allowance upon Reaching Majority

Facts

C., born in June 1992, received care contributions from 1 September 1998 and a helplessness allowance from the IV (Disability Insurance) for severe helplessness from 1 January 2004. By decision of 30 September 2008, the IV office confirmed the entitlement until the end of June 2010, when C. reached the age of 18. Subsequently, the IV office granted C. a helplessness allowance for mild helplessness by decision of 16 December 2010. The Administrative Court of the Canton of Bern annulled these decisions and remanded the case to the IV office for a new decision on the entitlement to the helplessness allowance.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court decided that reaching the age of majority at 18 is not to be considered the onset of a new insured event. The entitlement to a helplessness allowance for minors can therefore not be freely and comprehensively reviewed upon reaching majority, but only from the perspective of a revision. The timing of any potential reduction or termination of the helplessness allowance is therefore determined according to Art. 88bis para. 2 InvIO.

The law does not fundamentally distinguish in terms of the entitlement to the helplessness allowance (Art. 42 IVA) or the assessment of helplessness (Art. 37 InvIO) between whether the insured person is a minor or an adult. The special regulations for minors in Arts. 42bis, 42ter IVA…