Costco Employee Benefits: Health, 401(k) and Who Qualifies

Costco employee benefits cover part-time workers too. Costco’s careers site lists medical, dental, vision and pharmacy coverage, a 401(k), an employee stock purchase plan, paid sick and vacation time, and life and disability insurance for full-time and part-time employees. Its 2025 Sustainability Report says over 94% of U.S. employees are eligible for health benefits.

Does that mean you’re covered from your first shift? Not automatically, since two things decide whether the package reaches you: the status printed on your offer and a medical waiting period Costco doesn’t publish on any public page.

You can control the first one before you sign, because status is a fair question to raise once an offer is on the table.

Pay is a separate topic. Costco’s 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2025 says the starting wage rose to at least $20.00 an hour for entry-level jobs in the U.S. and Canada in March 2025, and our Costco starting pay breakdown walks through the raise grid.

Who qualifies for Costco employee benefits

Costco employee benefits go to full-time and part-time employees, and spouses, children and domestic partners can be covered too, according to Costco’s Why Costco careers page. Costco’s 2025 Sustainability Report puts U.S. eligibility for health benefits above 94%, with 96.8% of eligible employees enrolled in fiscal 2025.

The few percent left out matter if you’re hired into that group. So which status will your offer name? Warehouse employees describe three hourly statuses, and only two of them carry medical coverage.

A September 2026 reply on r/CostcoEmployee laid them out: limited part-time caps at 24 hours a week, part-time carries a 25-hour minimum, and full-time means 40.

Limited part-time is the trap. A California employee wrote on r/CostcoEmployee in August 2026 that a coworker who works only weekends is “listed as LPT, no benefits though.” Costco’s careers pages don’t define limited part-time at all, so you’ll only hear about it if you ask.

Moving up a tier follows a schedule, not a manager’s mood. A reply with 40 upvotes on r/CostcoEmployee in August 2026 said you have to be scheduled for 40 hours for 8 weeks in your department, and extra hours you pick up don’t count.

Costco’s fiscal 2025 10-K sets a target of at least 50% of its workforce being full-time, and the 2025 Sustainability Report put the U.S. full-time share at 63% that year.

How long until coverage starts? Costco doesn’t print the medical waiting period on its careers site or in its 10-K, and 2026 employee reports don’t match. A June 2026 r/CostcoEmployee post cited 180 days or 600 hours, whichever comes first. A reply in the same thread said, “Benefits are 60 days and then the first of the month.”

A new hire in May 2026 described medical and dental as starting after the 90-day probation. Which one is right for you? The February 2025 Costco and Teamsters agreement says eligibility terms are set in the Costco Health Plan booklet, so that booklet, not a forum thread, holds the date that applies to you.

What does coverage cost? Employees describe it as low by retail standards. A single employee wrote in May 2026 that medical, vision and dental cost about $26 a paycheck. Another, in the same r/CostcoEmployee thread, put the deductible gap between the two statuses this way:

“Deductible is 250 full time 500 part time it’s ridiculous how good our health insurance benefits are tbh”
– r/CostcoEmployee, May 2026 (17 upvotes)

Seasonal hires sit outside all three tiers at first. The Teamsters agreement says seasonal and probationary employees don’t qualify for health and welfare insurance, paid sick leave or holidays until they meet the regular eligibility rules. If you’re coming in for the holidays, our Costco seasonal jobs page covers how that hiring works.

How the Costco 401(k) works

The Costco 401(k) is open to U.S. employees age 18 or older who have completed 90 days of employment, according to Costco’s 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2025. Costco matches a portion of what you defer and also adds an annual discretionary contribution for each eligible participant.

That second payment is the part new hires overlook. Costco’s 2025 Sustainability Report describes “sizable contributions to company-sponsored retirement plans, based on years of service.”

The same 10-K shows Costco expensed $1,061 million across all its retirement plans in fiscal 2025, up from $963 million in fiscal 2024.

So what does the match add up to? Costco doesn’t print the formula in its public filings, but employees describe it consistently. A January 2026 reply on r/CostcoEmployee said Costco “matches $500 to your first $1000 every year” and put the yearly contribution at “like 3-9%” of pay, depending on years served.

An October 2025 thread gave the same 3% to 9% range. Those are employee figures; your plan documents set the real ones.

“The discretionary contribution is awesome, I love seeing it hit in the T Rowe app. It’s the main difference compared to Union retirements, since they pay separately into a pension. Between this payment and the two bonus checks, there’s a lot of “hidden” compensation for the employees who stay a long time. I’ve met a lot of employees who barely know about the discretionary 401k payout.”
– r/CostcoEmployee, January 2026

Union warehouses use a different setup. Under the February 2025 Teamsters agreement, Costco pays into the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust for covered employees and adds hourly 401(k) contributions that rise with service. The 10-K says around 5% of Costco employees are represented by unions, so most new hires land on the standard plan.

Two more money benefits sit nearby. Costco’s careers site lists an employee stock purchase plan, but its discount and enrollment windows aren’t on public pages, so ask at orientation.

The twice-yearly bonuses Costco calls Extra Checks go to “most tenured hourly employees,” per the Sustainability Report; the hour thresholds and amounts are in our Costco pay breakdown.

Costco employee benefits at a glance

Each row names where the rule comes from. “Reported” means employees said it in 2026 threads; Costco hasn’t published it.

Paid time off, sick days and disability

Costco’s careers site lists paid sick and vacation time, eight paid holidays, one paid floating holiday and paid bonding leave, along with life and AD&D insurance, long-term disability and voluntary short-term disability. The floating holiday is meant for a day that matters to you, and the page names Juneteenth, Indigenous Peoples Day and Veterans Day as examples.

How much sick time do you get? The union contract is the only public document with hour counts. The February 2025 Teamsters agreement grants 24 hours of paid sick/personal time after 90 days of continuous employment, another 64 hours after one year, and 88 hours on each anniversary after that.

Non-union terms come from Costco’s Employee Agreement, which the 2025 Sustainability Report says was updated in 2025 with feedback from thousands of employees, a review Costco runs every three years. Outside the contract, a nine-year employee wrote on r/Costco in February 2026 that the package includes “10 days of sick/personal time per year.”

Disability coverage gets little attention until someone needs it. In the same February 2026 r/Costco thread, an employee reported being paid 70% through Costco’s insurance during leave for knee and shoulder surgeries after state benefits ran out. That’s one person’s account, and the payout depends on the coverage you elect.

Scheduling is part of the time-off picture. Costco’s careers site says it guarantees minimum scheduled hours for full-time and part-time employees and posts weekly schedules at least three weeks in advance.

The 2025 Sustainability Report says two weeks. If you’re planning around another job or classes, assume the shorter notice.

No employee discount, but a free membership

Costco has no register discount for employees. On r/CostcoEmployee in August 2026 it was a running joke, with one cashier telling members, “I can offer you the employee discount, it’s zero.”

So what do you get instead? You get a membership card, and for union warehouses the terms are in writing. The February 2025 Teamsters agreement entitles each employee to an Executive membership at no charge, plus three free additional memberships for relatives or people who live with them. It also grants a lifetime Executive membership to employees who leave at 55 or older with at least 15 years of service, or with 25 years.

Non-union hires describe the same pattern. A new hire posted in September 2026 that their card said “Business Member,” and a reply said, “After 90 days, you’ll automatically be upgraded to Executive.”

Walmart and Target, both named as competitors in Costco’s 10-K, go the other way. Walmart’s associate card takes 10% off most of the store and has covered nearly all food since August 2025, as our Walmart employee discount page explains. Target’s 10% has held since 1975, per our Target employee discount page.

Which is worth more depends on how much your household spends where, and Costco publishes nothing that settles it.

What to ask before you accept a Costco position

Before you accept a Costco position, ask whether it’s part-time or limited part-time, how many hours a week it’s scheduled for, and the date your medical coverage starts. Status switches on almost everything above.

Why wait for the offer? I spent years as an interviewer at Walmart, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, and my advice is to hold benefits questions until there’s an offer in front of you. In a first-round conversation they pull attention away from the reasons you’d be good on the floor.

• Say this: “Is this position part-time or limited part-time, and how many hours a week is it scheduled for?” Not this: “Do I get benefits?” Everyone hears yes to the second one, including the limited part-time hire who won’t.
• Say this: “On what date does my medical coverage start?” A date beats “after probation,” since employees can’t agree on what that means.
• Say this: “When can I enroll in the 401(k) and the stock purchase plan?”

If you haven’t reached the offer yet, our Costco interview questions page covers the two rounds, and does Costco drug test explains the screening step before your start date.

Costco employee benefits FAQ

Do Costco part-time employees get benefits?

Yes, Costco part-time employees qualify for medical, dental and vision coverage, according to Costco’s careers site. Employees report that limited part-time workers, capped at 24 hours a week, don’t get those benefits, so confirm which part-time status your offer names.

How long until Costco benefits start?

Costco’s 401(k) opens after 90 days of employment for U.S. employees age 18 or older, per its fiscal 2025 10-K. Costco doesn’t publish the medical waiting period; employee reports from 2026 range from 60 days plus the first of the month to 180 days.

How many hours do you need to work at Costco to get full benefits?

Costco doesn’t publish an hours threshold for benefits. Employees reported in 2026 that regular part-time positions carry a 25-hour weekly minimum and qualify, limited part-time positions capped at 24 hours don’t, and full-time status requires being scheduled for 40 hours for 8 weeks.

Does Costco have a 401(k) match?

Yes, Costco matches a portion of employee 401(k) deferrals and adds an annual discretionary contribution, according to its fiscal 2025 10-K. Employees reported in January 2026 that the match is $500 on the first $1,000 and that the yearly contribution runs about 3% to 9% of pay by years of service.

Do Costco employees get a discount?

No, Costco employees don’t get a register discount, according to employee threads on r/CostcoEmployee in August 2026. They get a membership instead: the February 2025 Teamsters agreement grants each employee a free Executive membership, and non-union hires report an upgrade to Executive after 90 days.