Discover 9 Surprising Insights About Social Security for Lear Employees That Could Transform Your Retirement Planning

Healthcare Provider Update: Healthcare Provider for Lear Corporation Lear Corporation partners with UnitedHealthcare for its employee health benefits. By leveraging UnitedHealthcare's extensive network and resources, Lear aims to provide comprehensive health coverage options for its workforce. Potential Healthcare Cost Increases in 2026 In 2026, Lear Corporation and its employees may face significant healthcare cost increases, primarily driven by anticipated premium hikes in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. With some states forecasting jumbo rate increases exceeding 60% and the potential expiration of enhanced federal subsidies, many insured individuals could see their premiums rise by over 75%. This combination of factors creates heightened financial pressure, pushing the burden onto both employees and employers, highlighting the need for strategic planning in the face of rising healthcare costs. Click here to learn more

Social Security’s been a fact of retirement life ever since it was established in 1935. We all think we know how it works, but how much do you really know? If you work for Lear, here are nine things that might surprise you.

1. The Social Security trust fund is huge. At $2.9 trillion at the end of 2018, it exceeds the gross domestic product (GDP) of every economy in the world except the ten largest: China, the European Union, the United States, India, Japan, Germany, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, and The United Kingdom.
2. Most workers including those at Lear are eligible for Social Security benefits, but not all. For example, until 1984, federal government employees were part of the Civil Service Retirement System and were not covered by Social Security.
3. As an employee of Leark, you don’t have to work long to be eligible. If you were born in 1929 or later, you need to work for 10 or more years to be eligible for benefits.
4. Benefits are based on an individual’s average earnings during a lifetime of work under the Social Security system. The calculation is based on the 35 highest years of earnings. If an individual has years of low earnings or no earnings, Social Security may count those years to bring the total years to 35.
5. Those at Lear may also want to consider how there hasn't always been cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) in Social Security benefits. Before 1975, increasing benefits required an act of Congress; now increases happen automatically, based on the Consumer Price Index. There was a COLA increase of 2.9% in 2019, but there was only an increase of 2% in 2018.
6. Social Security is a major source of retirement income for 67% of current retirees, including those at Lear.
7. Social Security benefits are subject to federal income taxes — but it wasn’t always that way. In 1983, Amendments to the Social Security Act made benefits taxable, starting with the 1984 tax year.
8. Social Security recipients received a single lump-sum payment from 1937 until 1940. One-time payments were considered “payback” to those people who contributed to the program. Social Security administrators believed these people would not participate long enough to be vested for monthly benefits.

Featured Video

Articles you may find interesting:

Loading...
• Corporate Employees: 8 Factors When Choosing a Mutual Fund
• Use of Escrow Accounts: Divorce
• Medicare Open Enrollment for Corporate Employees: Cost Changes in 2024!
• Stages of Retirement for Corporate Employees
• 7 Things to Consider Before Leaving Your Company
• How Are Workers Impacted by Inflation & Rising Interest Rates?
• Lump-Sum vs Annuity and Rising Interest Rates
• Internal Revenue Code Section 409A (Governing Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans)
• Corporate Employees: Do NOT Believe These 6 Retirement Myths!
• 401K, Social Security, Pension – How to Maximize Your Options
• Have You Looked at Your 401(k) Plan Recently?
• 11 Questions You Should Ask Yourself When Planning for Retirement
• Worst Month of Layoffs In Over a Year!
• Corporate Employees: 8 Factors When Choosing a Mutual Fund
• Use of Escrow Accounts: Divorce
• Medicare Open Enrollment for Corporate Employees: Cost Changes in 2024!
• Stages of Retirement for Corporate Employees
• 7 Things to Consider Before Leaving Your Company
• How Are Workers Impacted by Inflation & Rising Interest Rates?
• Lump-Sum vs Annuity and Rising Interest Rates
• Internal Revenue Code Section 409A (Governing Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans)
• Corporate Employees: Do NOT Believe These 6 Retirement Myths!
• 401K, Social Security, Pension – How to Maximize Your Options
• Have You Looked at Your 401(k) Plan Recently?
• 11 Questions You Should Ask Yourself When Planning for Retirement
• Worst Month of Layoffs In Over a Year!
9. In January 1937, Earnest Ackerman became the first person in the U.S. to receive a Social Security benefit—a lump sum of 17 cents.

1. Social Security Administration, 2018; CIA World Factbook, 2018
2-5, 7-9. Social Security Administration, 2019
6. Employee Benefit Research Institute, 2018