LPP division
LPP division
Under Swiss law, occupational pension claims acquired during the marriage and up to the commencement of divorce proceedings must be divided between the spouses, in accordance with the Civil Code (article 122 CC). In a typical case, where both spouses work and live in Switzerland, the total amount they have accumulated during their marriage is theoretically divided in two, and the fund of the spouse who contributed the most must transfer the corresponding balance to that of the other spouse. If this spouse was not gainfully employed, his or her share will be paid into a vested benefits account.The courts with jurisdiction to hear divorce proceedings between spouses resident in Switzerland are those of the place of residence of one of them, as provided for in the Code of Civil Procedure (article 23 CPC). It is the divorce judge who is responsible for settling the ancillary effects of the divorce and calculating the distribution of occupational pension assets. On the other hand, if the couple are domiciled in France, it is the French judge who will have jurisdiction to rule on the divorce and its ancillary effects, in accordance with international rules on the subject. However, the Swiss Private International Law Act expressly reserves the exclusive jurisdiction of the Swiss courts to rule on the division of occupational pension claims against a Swiss occupational pension scheme (articles 63 and 64 of the Private International Law Act), meaning that jurisdiction to divide occupational pension assets held in Switzerland lies solely with the Swiss courts. If a French judgment has settled all the ancillary effects of the divorce except the division of the "second pillar", it is possible, not to say necessary, to bring an action to supplement this divorce judgment before the Swiss court, in order to divide the occupational pension assets accumulated in our country during a marriage dissolved abroad.
