A longtime Costco employee earning nearly $33 an hour is heading toward retirement with a seven-figure nest egg, a result he credits to the warehouse chain’s strong support for workers who stay with the company for decades.
Tony Barzar, 60, from Tucson, Arizona, is among the many seasoned Costco staffers who say the company’s pay and benefits give them little reason to walk away.
Those perks include wages that outpace many retail competitors, low-cost healthcare co-pays and a vacation package employees describe as competitive.
Barzar started with the company in 1986, back when the location operated as Price Club, earning $5.85 an hour collecting carts before the retailer later merged with Costco.
Now working as a self-checkout monitor, he earns the company’s top hourly rate of $32.90.
After Costco acquired Price Club in 1993, Barzar moved from a pension plan into a 401(k), a shift that ultimately helped build his retirement savings into a millionaire-level balance.
‘I could retire, but what would I do? Costco has been good to me,’ he told The Wall Street Journal. ‘I didn’t think me and my family would reach where we sit now.’
His Costco career has also helped him afford a three-bedroom home with a pool, along with two trips to Europe in the last 10 years.
Tony Barzar, 60, of Tucson, Arizona, has more than $1 million in his retirement account thanks to Costco’s generous program. Barzar is pictured with his wife, Jody, who also worked at Costco for 26 years
Barzar makes the maximum pay of $32.90 per hour, which has afforded him the ability to buy a three-bedroom house and go on two European vacations
Costco has designed its benefits packages with long-term employee retention in mind, as constantly training new hires is more expensive than keeping staff on for decades, like Barzar.
The wholesale club’s one-year turnover rate is around seven percent, according to WSJ – a shockingly small amount compared to the retail industry’s normal 60 percent rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Costco also has ‘culture coaches,’ which are long-term employees who mentor younger staff members to keep customers and the environment happy.
The employee benefits go beyond just good pay, as they also offer great and cheap insurance plans, which paid for his wife Jody’s three brain surgeries as part of her cancer treatment.
Jody also worked at Costco for 26 years in the bakery department, WSJ reported.
Barzar, who won Employee of the Year in 2018, also used Costco’s therapy benefits to help him cope with his wife’s illness.
‘You don’t have any idea how deep it goes until something tragic happens,’ Barzar said.
He has since returned to work as a part-time employee, and he was able to keep the same hourly pay, he told WSJ.
He started at the location when it was still a Price Club in 1986. Costco bought it out in 1993
In 2018, he won the Employee of the Year award. Barzar has been asked to become a supervisor, but he has declined, as he enjoys his customer-facing role
In Washington, Lee Warders, who is in his 90s, retired from the Covington store in April. He worked there since 2011 and became a local celebrity among members
Barzar has declined several promotions, saying he wants to keep his customer-facing role which has allowed him to bond and share stories with shoppers.
‘I would say this is my calling, right where I’m at,’ he said. The Daily Mail has reached out to Barzar and Costco for comment.
Barzar is not unique, with many other long-term Costco staff who have opted out of progression set to enjoy a healthy retirement.
Gary Millerchip, the chief financial officer, said ‘thousands’ of employees currently have $1 million in their retirement plans.
Employees stay on so long that many retire early due to the massive amounts in their 401(k)s, but ‘you have a pipeline of employees coming behind that group that also are building that level of experience,’ he told WSJ.
Meanwhile in Seattle, Lee Warders, who is in his nineties, retired from the Covington store in April, The Seattle Times reported.
He started at Costco in 2011 and had built up a strong rapport with customers, who created a Facebook page with him and post pictures with him.
He even met his girlfriend, Madeleine, through a customer while working for the retailer.
And like many Costco employees, his 401(k) is healthy as he contributed up to 50 percent of his income into it, he told The Times.
