Financial readiness lagging in career military
Seven out of ten career military families were unable to earn a passing grade on a recently-administered financial readiness test, raising concerns about service member preparedness for increased financial decision making under the new Blended Retirement System.
Continue reading...
Sequestration Concerns
Military families* continue to be concerned about possible cuts to defense spending, with 70 percent of those surveyed in February expressing anxiety and 73 percent anticipating being financially affected by cuts.
Continue reading...
Does Trump’s proposed budget mean a government shutdown?
President Trump’s proposed $1.1 trillion FY18 budget calls for an increase of $52 billion for the Department of Defense (DoD) and $64 billion in cuts to other agencies. To finish out FY17, he also requested $25 billion for the DoD base budget and $18 billion in cuts to other agencies.
Continue reading...
Sequestration still has military families feeling uneasy
Knowing the presidential transition would take place in January 2017, military families still expressed high levels of anxiety about sequestration in response to a December 2016 survey.
Continue reading...
Military families begin the year confident in their financial futures
The year 2017 just might be a good year for military families and their finances. Not only did they receive their largest pay raise since 2010, but they ended the year optimistic about their financial futures.
Continue reading...
Service members and job security
The FY17 National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed into law last month, included “readiness stabilization funding.” This funding stops the military drawdown of troops and increases the end strength of the Army, Marine Corps and Air Force.
Continue reading...
Anxieties over potential government shutdown linger
America’s career military families are growing increasingly optimistic that lawmakers will skirt a possible government shutdown in the spring, even as their feelings of anxiety linger.
Continue reading...
The changing terrain: Post-election financial decisions
Following the November presidential election, First Command Financial Services surveyed a group of middle-class military and general population families* to find out two things about their personal financial decisions:
-
Did the election change the riskiness of their finances/investments?
Continue reading...
The changing terrain: Sequestration and shutdown
Exactly three-quarters of military families surveyed in the latest First Command Financial Behaviors Index® are anxious about cuts to defense spending. A slightly smaller amount (72 percent) anticipate being financially affected by cuts.
Continue reading...
Military families show strong preference for permanent life insurance
Demand for permanent life insurance continues to grow in America’s career military, where 2/3 of families now report owning this type of coverage and many others say they are likely to join them, according to the latest findings of the First Command Financial Behaviors Index®.
Continue reading...
