Newly enlisted members of the military generally are paid a relative pittance to defend our freedoms. But the small pay hasn’t prevented them from achieving some big things with their money.
As it turns out, military families tend to do better financially than the rest of us, according to a recent report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
The EBRI surveyed 2,521 Americans age 25 and older to determine where they stand financially. Participants included 1,255 workers, 1,266 retirees and an oversample of 829 respondents from military households
Based on those findings, here are some ways that military families stand out from the pack.
They’re more likely to have hefty assets
Nearly half — 49% — of military households have at least $250,000 in financial assets. That is significantly higher than non-military households, where only 40% of respondents have reached that threshold.
They are less likely to view debt as a problem
It’s no secret that Americans are drowning in debt. Credit card balances in the U.S. now top $1 trillion.
However, 55% of military households say debt is not a problem. That is 9% higher than the percentage of non-military households that report the same.
They’re more likely to have started retirement prep
Compared to non-military households, folks in the military seem to be doing a much better job of planning for retirement. They are more likely to have:
- Thought about how they will occupy their time in retirement (68% of military households vs. 58% of non-military households)
- Calculated how much money they would likely need to cover health expenses in retirement (50% vs. 41%)
- Estimated how much income they would need each month in retirement (63% vs. 54%)
- Planned for how they would cover an emergency or big expense in retirement (56% vs. 47%)
They’re more likely to be confident in their retirement prospects
All that prep work has left at least some military households feeling pretty good about their retirement.
The two higher-earning groups of military households in the EBRI survey are confident about their retirement prospects. That includes 71% of households earning between $35,000 and $74,999 and 89% of households earning $75,000 or more.
Those numbers are 11% and 8% higher, respectively, compared with non-military households.
However, it’s important to point out that confidence about retirement is no higher for military households earning less than $35,000 than it is for non-military households in that group.
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