Military Financial Readiness

The National Financial Educators Council (NFEC) offers resources, training, and support to organizations serving veterans and active duty military personnel, for the purpose of promoting military financial readiness.

The NFEC is a for-profit organization with a social enterprise model, committed to serving U.S. active-duty military personnel and veterans. The NFEC created its American Dream Movement to provide complimentary resources to selected organizations serving military and former military personnel. The objective is to increase army financial readiness and all other branches of the military by giving servicemembers access to training and materials to support them making positive financial decisions aligned with their life goals.

 

Government Mandates for Increasing Financial Readiness

By passing USC 992 in July 2016, the U.S. Government demonstrated its commitment to promoting military financial readiness. This legislation mandates that the Department of Defense provide all members of the nation’s armed forces with comprehensive financial literacy training.

To fulfill the requirements of this mandate, the Office of Financial Readiness (OFR) was created. This office was set up to provide the required military personal finance training at each touchpoint indicated in the mandate; the OFR also makes Personal Financial Managers/ Counselors available through Family Centers developed to serve armed forces members.

Suggestions for Military Financial Readiness Assets

 

Important Military Financial Literacy Choices 2

Well-timed Training Delivery

The mandate sets forth significant time points in an individual’s service when financial instruction must be delivered, including at initial entry training, arrival at first duty station, each transfer of duty station, during leadership training, at time of investment in the Thrift Savings Plan (the military retirement plan), and upon promotion, pre-deployment, or post-deployment. Training also coincides with each servicemember’s major life events, such as marriage, divorce, birth of first child, and disabling sickness or condition.

Required Subjects Covered

The requirement to provide comprehensive military financial readiness and army financial readiness training also stipulates the broad scope of subjects to be covered. The mandate sets forth the following topics which must be offered in the instruction:

Organziation for Military Financial Readiness Benefits

Aptitidues for Military Financial Readiness Infographic

Personal Financial Consultant Availability Requirement

The law also requires military financial counseling services to be made available, in addition to the timely financial literacy education. Upon request, all military servicemembers and their spouses must be offered personal finance consultant services. These military financial readiness counselors must be highly-qualified through education, training, and/or experience to be able to provide supportive financial counseling to armed forces members. Counselors must have no conflicts of interest and show dedication to giving helpful information and counseling regarding financial services and related marketing practices to military personnel and their spouses.

The Importance of Increasing Military Financial Readiness

Why is it so important to build military financial readiness? Recent research indicates that military personnel face financial challenges even greater than their civilian counterparts. Military financial counselors and consultants deployed at stations around the globe are working toward solving these problems:

In a 2016 survey of 8,000 active-duty servicemembers, veterans, and military family members, USAA and Blue Star Families found the following to be top financial obstacles respondents encountered: saving for the future (69%), living or moving costs (64%), spouse unemployment/underemployment (52%), uncertainty of military life (53%), and low income or limited money management knowledge (42%). And a survey commissioned by Zebit in May 2016 discovered that 65% of active and retired military, reservists, and military family member respondents were stressed about their finances; 17% reported being unable to focus on the call of duty due to their financial stress.

Decisive Army Financal Readiness & All Other Branches Management

NFEC Provides Solutions

Solutions to increasing military finance and army financial readiness are available through the NFEC, which trains staff members responsible for teaching financial education and providing counseling to military personnel and families. The training has been customized to meet requirements of the USC 992 mandates.

The lesson plans and counseling strategy plan provide guidelines for educators at each mandated touchpoint, including ways to engage the soldier’s family and provide timely ongoing training. Educators and counselors are prepared to set clear learning barometers, measure progress, complete final reports, and bring new educators on board.