Starbucks announces investments for U.S. retail hourly partners (employees) 

Collage of smiling Starbucks partners

Based on the belief that success is best when it’s shared, Starbucks is proud to further our commitment to our partners personal and professional development.

For decades, Starbucks has consistently offered its hourly partners (employees) the best benefits and perks in the industry – including comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage for eligible partners and their families, industry-leading gender-affirming care, Family Expansion Reimbursement Assistance, free therapy sessions, 100 percent upfront tuition coverage for those seeking first-time bachelor’s degrees, equity in the company through annual Bean Stock Awards, and reimbursement of the biennial fee required for DACA recipients to stay in the DACA program. 

This week, Starbucks is proud to introduce the latest update to its partner investments: accruing paid vacation time sooner, continued investments in partner pay, innovative financial well-being and skills-building benefits, partner-centric scheduling and the introduction of the first-ever North America Barista Championship.

The comprehensive Starbucks benefits package, recognized recently by AON as the most valuable among more than 50 U.S. companies surveyed, is set apart because it’s available to a broad subset of the Starbucks retail hourly workforce, including anyone working an average of 20 or more hours per week.

U.S. Partner Investments

    Barista Championships expanded to North America*

    Begin accruing vacation sooner*

    Build credit with the new Siren Card+

    Exciting new upgrades to Partner Hub and the Partner App*

    Pay raises, differentiated for tenure*

    Scheduling improvements, to get you the right hours

    Expanding career mobility*

Starbucks partners share how benefits have impacted their lives

Vic Ruiz and his wife started the in vitro fertilization process in 2018, after years of not being able to conceive. A Starbucks store manager in Ladera Ranch, California, Ruiz knew Starbucks had a family expansion benefit program, which would reimburse some of the costs for surgeries and medications.  

But when the IVF procedure didn’t work, they turned to adoption instead. The same benefit also reimbursed some of the costs for the social worker home visits and the medical and background checks.  

In December 2022, the call came: how fast can you get to Florida? A birth mom was ready to give up her child, and she’d chosen Vic and his wife. They had to decide right then.   

They took a cross-country red-eye flight, stopped by Target to pick up a baby car seat and rushed to the hospital, where Ruiz remembers, “the doors opened and the nurses smiled from ear to ear, and said, ‘We have been waiting for you both. This is your daughter!’ We cried and cried.” 

"I look at the whole process and I'm just blown away,” Ruiz says. “One, that we survived. But two, Starbucks made it a lot easier. Starbucks as a company has those benefits to support anybody to live the dream of becoming a parent. It didn't cover the entire adoption and we didn't expect that. But it does give you peace of mind. It does ease it a little bit that some of those costs are covered. It took a little bit of weight off our shoulders and made that financial impact a little more manageable."

“It starts at Day 1 with new partners,” Ruiz says. “I always put our benefits at the forefront. Take advantage of every single benefit applicable to you at this stage of your life. And then your life will change, and there’s myriad benefits that will apply then. I’ve been through the life stages, and I’ve utilized a lot of those benefits.” 

Corinne Kinder, store manager from Wentzville, Missouri, saved her Bean Stock awards for seven years to secure a down payment for her dream home. "In conversations with my partners, every First Sip I do, I go through the benefits and how it has positively impacted my life and how it can positively impact them. I tell them, next year you're going to accrue Bean Stock. This is why we're partners because we own stock, because you can use it to empower what you want to do in your life. You can buy the house, you can buy the car, you can choose to keep it going and make it something big, or you can sell it to do the things you want or need to do. It's an amazing benefit. Let that money work for you and what you want to do in life."  

Justin Brengel, a barista from Deltona, Florida, went back to school through the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, which paved the way for him to pursue an internship at the Starbucks Support Center. “Currently, I am pursuing a degree in criminal justice and criminology. However, after taking a class in digital marketing, I have become interested in pursuing a career in this field or communications. It is the storytelling element in these areas that I have come to truly enjoy. Going back to school has provided me with this opportunity to change my life, even though I am now doing something outside of my degree.”  

Andrea Coyle, store manager from Beverly Hills, California, was first exposed to mental health support, thanks to the services offered by Lyra. "Because of the coverage I have, I feel like I can actually, finally, take care of my health. I've had the same therapist the entire time. I truly think she changed my life."  

Jeffrey Duffy, store manager from Anchorage, Alaska, works at Starbucks – along with his wife, daughter and son. They’re all Coffee Masters. Between them all, he figures they’ve used almost every benefit there is. “Being in a company that cares about its people, that was huge to me. I have the opportunity to grow, and fail, without being punished or feeling belittled. I feel very supported. I feel like Starbucks truly cares about me as a person. Bringing my kinds on was a no-brainer. My daughter was working at restaurants, and I saw the way she was getting treated, and I was like, you won’t be treated that way at Starbucks. There’s not a lot of jobs that provide affordable health benefits. The benefits keep me here, and the opportunity to grow.”  

Ben Arias, shift supervisor in Chicago, hopes to use the business administration degree he’s earning through the Starbucks College Achievement Plan to expand the reach of a weekly community-dinner service initiative he helps lead. “Starbucks has been instrumental in the long-term benefit of my life. I’ll be the first in my family to graduate from college. Credit where credit’s due.” 

For Emily Pruitt, a store manager in Austin, Texas, signing her wife up for health insurance was a game-changer. It covered the majority of the treatment needed to stabilize her kidney disease. “One of the things that keeps me around is the benefits. Interviewing new candidates, onboarding them, it’s my favorite piece to share, one of the biggest selling points. It’s more than a job, it provides more than a paycheck. Starbucks can influence your life in other ways.”  


*The Company recognizes changes to wages, benefits, and/or terms and conditions may not be unilaterally implemented for partners in stores with organizing under way and may be subject to collective bargaining in good faith for partners in stores with certified union representation.

+Terms and conditions apply. Learn more at cred.ai/faq.