Over the years, the Employee Benefit Research Institute's annual Retirement Confidence Survey has provided a lot of great material for my articles. The survey has consistently provided useful retirement insights from America's workers and retirees.
And this year's iteration is unique: For the first time, the survey incorporated an outsized population from the military community, both currently serving and veterans. When I heard about it, I couldn't wait to dig in. I wasn't disappointed, and I think the results confirmed what I have long believed: Military service is a differentiator -- a financial differentiator.
Here are four themes that stuck out to me as I reviewed the survey results.
1. Planning Transfers Well
Planning is a hallmark of military life, with a plan for everything from police details to multinational operations. It would seem that whether you spend a few years or a few decades wearing the uniform, some of that planning mentality sticks with you later. The folks running the survey asked a series of questions designed to gauge workers' approach to planning for retirement.
When answering a variety of planning-oriented questions -- for example, "Have you estimated how much income you would need each month in retirement?" or, "Have you calculated how much you will need to cover health expenses?" -- those who had served or were serving were significantly more likely to have done the type of planning that can translate into a successful retirement, whatever that may look like.
2. Military Service Is a Retirement Positive
A whopping 90% of military household respondents disagreed with the idea that military service is a roadblock to retirement saving. That should ring especially true with the current array of benefits and education that are associated with today's Blended Retirement System. Furthermore, once military families make it to retirement, the survey indicates they are happier -- with a lifestyle that is what they expected or better -- than those who didn't serve.
3. Military Households Effectively Work Both Sides of the Balance Sheet
In recent years, we have seen an alarming increase in household debt and specifically credit-card debt. According to the Federal Reserve, revolving debt has steadily increased over the past four years, from less than a trillion back in 2020 to $1.343 trillion in the August G.19 report. That's nearly a 40% increase. Military households are certainly not immune to this trend, but according to the survey, more of them report debt as "not a problem" than non-military respondents. Given that, it's not surprising that a bigger slice (49% vs. 40%) of those who have served have accumulated $250,000 or more in financial assets.
4. Military Households Are Durable
By necessity, military families navigate change. It's the nature of the military lifestyle. That's one reason I wasn't surprised to see that today's inflationary environment, housing challenges, short-term economic woes and uncertainty in the stock market appear to bother military respondents a bit less than those who did not serve. In the end, focus on what you can control, right?
The millions of Americans who have served our country didn't do so to become rich or even retire comfortably. However, based on the findings of the 2024 Retirement Confidence Survey, it appears that wearing the uniform yields some well-deserved financial benefits. It's hard not to acknowledge the habits, lessons, discipline and, yes, benefits of military service as contributing factors.
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