Reduction of the disability pension due to a change in family status

Facts

A., born in 1976, suffered a severe traumatic brain injury in 2001, which led to complete incapacity to work. She has been receiving a full disability pension since 2002. In the context of a revision procedure in 2016, the IV-Stelle (IV Office) determined that A. has had a sphere of duties since the birth of her son in 2013 and that, therefore, the degree of disability is no longer to be assessed by means of an income comparison, but rather by the mixed method. As a result, the IV-Stelle terminated the pension. The Cantonal Court partially upheld the appeal and awarded A. a three-quarter pension. The IV-Stelle appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court partially upholds the appeal. It states that according to the case law on judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the Di Trizio case, a revision-based termination or reduction of a pension solely due to a change in family status from "fully employed" to "partially employed" is inadmissible. This also applies in the context of a review. The degree of disability must therefore continue to be determined…