Costco has always been known as a great place to work, especially for part-time employees. But I thought it was time to take a deep dive into exactly what employee benefits and discounts Costco offers their workers. Perks that just might sway your decision one way or another when deciding to interview or accept a job offer.

Before we break it all down, let’s get some basic questions out-of-the-way that several commenters were curious about.

How old do you have to be to work at Costco? – Their minimum age for employment is 18 years old.

Does Costco hire seniors? – Yes. Departments where Costco hires senior citizens often include the pharmacy, optical, and member services.

Is there a required retirement age? – There is NO required retirement age at Costco.

1. Solid Health & Dental Insurance

If you’ve worked for Costco for at least 180 consecutive days, and work more than 24 hours per week, you’re eligible for health benefits.

You actually get to choose your own provider and out-of-pocket costs are low compared to the competition.

Also, since there is a pharmacy inside the warehouse, you get access to a solid in-house prescription drug plan.

Co-pays are $5 for generic drugs and 5-15% for for brand name medications.

Plus, all employees get access to a low cost dental plan which covers teeth cleaning and some basic procedures like cavity fillings.

Specifics: From current employee Kai, full-time medical plans are capped at $2,500 out-of-pocket for the year. This includes a $250 deductible, $15 co-pay, $25 for specialty doc which does NOT require a referral.

Kai also told me that you get 20 appointments a year for mental health, acupuncture and chiropractic services.

See Also: Costco Dress Code: Here’s the Deal on Tattoos, Piercings, and Clothing

2. Generous 401(k) Match

Costco offers a 50% match on your 401(k) contributions up to a maximum of $500 per year.

So you’d be smart to add $1,000 a year (if you can) as you’ll maximize this benefit.

In this scenario, Costco will add $500 to your 401(k) if you’re able to add $1,000 per year. Not too shabby.

Costco will also contribute a percentage of your pay regardless of what you add to your 401(k). This kicks in after you’ve been employed for a year and starts at 3% and increases periodically.

Caution: If you quit working at Costco before year 5 you’ll lose a portion of what they contributed but you keep ALL of your contributions.

See Also: The 15 Best Employee Discounts at Fast Food Restaurants

3. Does Costco Offer an Employee Discount?

No, employees pay the same price as everyone else.

But…when I asked a Costco employee about this, she told me that one nice perk they do get is the ability to shop after hours when the store is empty saving a bunch of time.

After all, time is money, right?

4. Salary Starting at $17/Hour

According to this Today Show article the starting hourly wage at Costco has recently been raised to $17 per hour.

The $17/hour is for Service Assistants while the starting wage for Service Clerks is $18/hour.

Wanna be a meat cutter? You’ll start at $18.50/hour.

For reference this is a higher wage compared to other “big box” employers.

Factor in Sunday shifts and this wage rises significantly. More on that later.

Also, in case you were wondering, hourly Costco employees “top out” at about $26 – $28/hour and it takes 6-8 years to get there.

See Also: Does Costco Still Drug Test? We Answer All Your Questions

5. Their Paid Time Off (PTO) Policy Doesn’t Suck

Paid Time Off is a big deal and this Costco benefits is nothing to scoff at.

After you’ve been employed for 1 year and have accrued at least 2,000 paid hours, you’ll start to accumulate paid time off.

Specifically, PTO is earned based on years of employment and breaks down like this:

– 1 year of employment: 1 week PTO

– 2-4 years: 2 weeks PTO

– 5-9 years: 3 weeks PTO

– 10-14 years: 4 weeks PTO

– 15+ years: 5 weeks PTO

If you work less than 2,000 hours your PTO is pro-rated accordingly.

Also, it’s important to note that you can ONLY roll-over your PTO to the following year and it can’t be carried over from year to year.

Costco WANTS you to use your vacation hours…so use it before you lose it.

6. A Free Turkey? Um, OK.

According to this Business Insider article, employees at Costco get a free turkey at Thanksgiving.

Cool gesture but not exactly the same as a real Christmas bonus, more like a “Jelly of the Month Club” type bonus.

Apparently employees can donate the turkey to a charity if they don’t want to take it home.

7. Earn “Time and a Half” on Sunday

You can really rack up a fat paycheck if you regularly work on Sunday as you’ll earn time and a half.

So if you normally earn $15/hour that’ll get bumped to $22.50 which is a nice pay increase.

Doing some quick math, your weekly hourly rate jumps up to $16.50 per hour by working on Sunday.

See Also: Amazon Employee Discount: The Nuts & Bolts So You Can Take Advantage

8. You’ll Get 4 Free Memberships

Also, as a Costco employee you’ll get 4 free annual memberships.

One membership for you and 3 for anyone of your choosing.

Choose wisely young padawan.

9. Opportunities to Move Up

From talking to multiple Costco employees it seems unanimous that your success depends largely on your work ethic and how badly you want to move up with the company.

Work hard and you’ll move up. Heck, shoot for a supervisor position, then a store manager.

Your success with Costco is limited only by YOU and your attitude.

“Bonus Time” at Costco

I also got the skinny (kinda) on how bonuses for Costco employees work.

Here’s what I know so far…

– Bonus Every 6 Months: According to this thread on Indeed.com, an employee talked about getting a $2,500 to $3,500 bonus every 6 months depending on years with Costco.

– Annual Bonus up to $5,500: According to PayScale.com some employees get an annual bonus up to $5,500. Particularly the in-house optometrist (eye doctor).

Help me out in the comments if you have first hand knowledge of how Costco bonuses work.

Ask the Reader: Do you work for Costco Wholesale? What did I miss? Let me know in the comments, thanks.

By Kyle James

Kyle James( Owner/Founder )

I started Rather-Be-Shopping.com in 2000 and have become a consumer expert and advocate writing about out-of-the-box ways to save at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco to name a few. I’ve been featured on FOX News, Good Morning America, and the NY Times talking about my savings tips. (Learn more)