Gen Zers are 'benefit-maxxing,' with more than 1 in 4 full-timers getting stock awards — the most of any generation. How they're using their wealth

Those perks represent a lot of money: 30% of workers’ total compensation, according to Caeli, an app that helps people buy benefit-eligible items online. Yet 42% of employees fail to take advantage of them. Gen Z workers are an exception.

Stacy Bucchere, Bank of America’s Managing Director of Workplace Benefits, told Moneywise that Gen Zers are going so far as to demand stock awards — once the domain of high-priced executives — as part of their pay package.

“They are aggressively trying to get stock awards as a retention strategy, using them as a negotiating lever,” Bucchere said,

The strategy is working, with 27% of full-time Gen Z workers receiving stock awards, more than any prior generation.

Finance expert Melanie Musson, of Clearsurance.com, applauds their moxie.

“Why would you not try to negotiate and advocate for yourself?” Musson told Moneywise. “When you do that, you’re less likely to be undervalued and forgotten.”

Here’s a look at the motivation behind Gen Z’s benefit-maxxing, where they feel they’re ahead and where they lag.

What’s behind Gen Z’s focus on workplace benefits

As Fortune reports, Gen Zers’ are aware of potential cuts to Social Security starting as early as 2032 when the federal program’s trust fund is projected to dry up. That makes workplace 401(k)s and workplace savings plans attractive to them.

“Gen Z understands that life is expensive. They strongly want to live the lifestyle they grew up with,” Musson said. “They don’t want to take a step back and live on less than they’re used to.”

Thanks to TikTok influencers and social media, Gen Zers understand concepts like compounding interest, and are aware how valuable an employer’s match on a 401(k) can be.

Bucchere said one of the generation’s biggest motivations is FOMO, or fear of missing out.

“That FOMO for Gen Zers is, ‘I don’t want to miss out on one point of compound savings today,’” she told Moneywise.

The bank’s data indicates that Gen Zers start saving for retirement at 24 — compared to Boomers, who started at 34 years of age, on average. Meanwhile, 84% of Gen Zers feel confident they’re on track for retirement, compared to 79% of Boomers.

They start their careers with more financial knowledge than older peers thanks to financial literacy classes. A World Economic Forum report found more than 50% of Gen Zers learned about investing before they started their jobs, versus 20% of Boomers. Bucchere’s two Gen Z children — both business majors in college — took financial literacy courses in high school.

Still, Bucchere said Gen Z workers want more financial know-how.