Disability pension in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund - waiting period

Justices: Endresen, Matheson, Bull, Kallerud, Thyness

A woman who had been diagnosed with MS, was a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund. A couple of years before becoming a member, she had suffered an infection to the optic nerve, which could be temporary, but also a symptom of an early stage of MS. At the time, she was not aware that it could be connected to MS. The Supreme Court's majority of four justices found that she was not entitled to disability pension from the Public Service Pension Fund, because of the waiting period rule in section 27 subsection 4 of the Public Service Pension Act. It was concluded that a waiting period could be imposed even if the relevant symptom was inactive on the date she became a member. The condition of knowledge was met if the member had understood that the symptom indicated an "illness" or a "blemish" beyond everyday afflictions, not necessarily that the symptom had to be an indication of future illness beyond the illness she was treated for at the time. The woman had acknowledged this. The Public Pension Fund's individual assessment leading to the decision not to grant a pension, could not be reviewed by the courts. Dissenting votes 4-1.