Facts
The case concerns the calculation of the couple's pension for a couple, Mr. and Mrs. O., who applied for an ordinary couple's pension in August 1988. The Swiss Compensation Fund (CSC) granted an ordinary couple's pension of 487 CHF per month for each spouse, considering a contribution period of 26 years and 5 months and an average annual income of 25,200 CHF.
The O. spouses contested this decision and requested a revision of the pension considering the missing contribution years from 1951 to 1962. The Federal Insurance Court finally decided that the missing contribution years had to be filled in based on the principle of protection of good faith, considering that Mr. O. would have joined the voluntary insurance in 1951 if he had received correct information from the Swiss representation in Rio.
The Federal Insurance Court also decided that additional income had to be taken into account for the missing contribution years and that the corresponding contributions had to be paid without interest.
Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court considered that the principle of protection of good faith had to be applied to fill in the missing contribution years from 1951 to 1962. It estimated that Mr. O. would have joined the voluntary insurance in 1951 if he had received correct information from the Swiss representation in Rio.
The Federal Insurance Court also considered that additional income had to be taken into account for the missing contribution years. It estimated that the income had to be reconstructed based on the income actually received…