How do Walmart employee benefits (health, 401(k), parental leave) in 2025 compare to Target and Amazon?

1. What advocates and the company claim — Walmart’s headline benefits and strengths that matter to workers

Walmart’s materials and secondary summaries emphasize health plans starting at low per‑pay costs, 401(k) with employer match, and paid parental leave as core benefits for hourly and salaried workers; sources note specific figures such as health premiums "starting at $30 per pay period," a 401(k) program with company matching, and paid parental leave that includes 16 weeks of paid maternity leave and at least six weeks of paid parental leave for full‑time hourly U.S. associates ^{[2] [4]}. Employee review‑style compilations add that Walmart offers dental, vision and life insurance and a 10% employee discount on store purchases, and one analyst summary signals a 6% employer 401(k) match in some reports ^{[1] [2] [3]}. These sourced points frame Walmart as publicly pitching a broad benefits menu intended to aid recruitment and retention across hourly and salaried ranks ^{[1] [2]}.

2. How Walmart stacks up on health coverage — limited direct comparisons, mixed signals on cost and scope

The assembled materials show explicit premium examples and the presence of medical, dental and vision options at Walmart, but none of the supplied documents provide an apples‑to‑apples comparison of network generosity, out‑of‑pocket maximums, or premium subsidies versus Target and Amazon ^{[2] [1]}. Employee‑facing summaries rate Walmart’s health offerings in midrange (ratings ~3.2–3.5) but those ratings do not translate into firm, quantitative superiority or inferiority relative to Target or Amazon; Target and Amazon appear in the dataset mainly in the context of discount perks rather than detailed plan design, so claims that Walmart’s health plans are better or worse cannot be conclusively drawn from the available material ^{[1] [5]}. The reporting therefore highlights transparency gaps: Walmart discloses price starters and plan existence, but public comparators for plan generosity are not present in these sources ^{[2] [1]}.

3. Retirement benefits and the reality behind the 401(k) talking points

Sources indicate Walmart offers a 401(k) with employer matching and employee commentary or summaries give the 401(k) a relatively favorable rating (around 3.9 in one compilation) while one article mentions a 6% employer match in some accounts ^{[1] [3]}. However, the documents do not produce a consistent, documented comparison of the match rate, vesting schedule, employee eligibility windows, or auto‑enrollment rules against Target and Amazon, and the available Target/Amazon mentions focus on employee discounts and marketplace competition rather than retirement plan design ^{[6] [7] [5]}. In short, Walmart’s 401(k) is presented as competitive in marketing and reviews, but the provided analyses lack the granular employer plan documents needed to claim clear superiority or parity with Target and Amazon ^{[2] [1]}.

4. Parental leave — Walmart claims lead in maternity, but paternal and overall family leave comparisons remain patchy

Among the materials, Walmart is repeatedly cited as offering 16 weeks of paid maternity leave for full‑time hourly associates and additional parental leave weeks, which exceeds a noted retail‑industry median of 10 weeks and stands out as a visible strength in the supplied reporting ^[4]. The same sources characterize Walmart’s paid paternity/parental leave as roughly industry average (about 2–6 weeks depending on role and tenure), and comparative notes on Target and Amazon in these datasets are limited to discount and benefit menu mentions rather than detailed leave scheduling, making firm cross‑company ranking on paternity and family leave impossible from these files alone ^{[4] [3]}. The available evidence therefore supports the clear claim that Walmart’s paid maternity leave is relatively generous among retail peers in these summaries, while full gender‑neutral family leave comparisons are unresolved ^{[4] [3]}.

5. Perks, recruitment impact and where the public record falls short — why the picture is incomplete

The documents show Walmart expanding employee grocery discounts (10%) and other store savings, a move framed as a competitive recruiting lever that could pressure rivals; Target is noted for 10% savings and extra discounts on wellness items, and Amazon for employee purchase discounts, but none of the pieces provide a complete benefit ledger across medical plan specifics, retirement mechanics, leave policies, or eligibility distinctions by hourly versus salaried status ^{[5] [3] [1]}. Multiple sources explicitly acknowledge gaps in direct comparison and emphasize that details vary by job type, tenure, and state—so while Walmart markets several headline wins, the supplied analyses leave meaningful unknowns about how total compensation and health plan value compare to Target and Amazon without access to insurer plan documents, company benefit handbooks, or standardized employer benefit surveys ^{[1] [6] [3]}.

6. Bottom line — what the evidence supports and what to ask next

The provided materials substantiate that Walmart offers marketable health, retirement, and parental benefits and publicly highlights stronger maternity leave and broad employee discounts, while confirming that Target and Amazon have competitive perks but are not profiled in depth here for direct comparison ^{[4] [5] [3]}. To reach a definitive ranking, request or consult plan documents, official employer benefit summaries, or standardized third‑party benefit comparisons that list premiums, deductibles, match percentages, vesting, and exact leave durations by role—none of which appear in the supplied dataset ^{[2] [1]}. Until those documents are obtained, the most supportable claim is that Walmart’s 2025 benefits headline maternity leave and discount expansions as strengths, 401(k) is presented positively, and health‑plan superiority remains unproven compared with Target and Amazon in the sources provided ^{[4] [2] [3]}.