For over 20 years a man from the Bernese Seeland was dependent on welfare. When he reached retirement age in 2019, he received supplementary benefits in addition to the AHV pension. Still, he didn’t have much to live with. In summer 2020 the tide turned for him, he inherited around 261,000 francs.
He correctly informed the social services about the legacy. And he asked for part of the social assistance he had paid back – around 200,000 francs!
The Bernese objected to the decision. As the “Bieler Tagblatt” reports, the complaint has now been rejected by the administrative court. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
Lack of employability
In his complaint, the man mentioned that he was self-employed as a craftsman from 2010 to 2019. The activity was recognized as “social integration”. In his opinion, the work should be taken into account in the repayment obligation.
However, according to the social services, this was not actually a matter of professional reintegration. Rather, it was an exceptional case to ensure his social integration because of his lack of mediation skills.
The court also backed the social service in its judgment. He never gave an assurance that the integration measure would count as gainful employment. And: The social service never said that the social assistance paid during this period was not subject to reimbursement.
Wanted to buy an apartment
In his complaint, the Bernese also pointed out that he would still have to rely on supplementary benefits if he had to repay social assistance. In addition, he also had debts of over 50,000 francs, which he could not pay without the inheritance.
In its judgment, however, the court made it clear that the man never intended to use part of the money to pay off his debts. On the contrary: he even stated that he was thinking about investing the inheritance in residential property. In addition, the man did not claim in his complaint that the recovery would put him in an emergency. (bra)