Military households are more likely to have saved for retirement, to have prepared for retirement and to be collaborating with a financial adviser, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. (Pixabay)
Military households reported more savings and confidence in their retirement prospects than non-military households, according to annual survey results released recently by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Military households are more likely to have saved for retirement, to have prepared for retirement and to be collaborating with a financial adviser, Craig Copeland, wealth benefits research director for the nonprofit institute, said in a July 24 news release announcing the 2024 Retirement Confidence Survey results.
“Military households seem to be in better financial shape and are more likely to be confident in having enough money to last throughout retirement as well as various other aspects about retirement than non-military households,” Copeland said in the release.
They are less concerned about the effects of rising housing costs, higher costs of living and higher inflation on their retirement savings, according to the research institute.
Specifically, 89% of military households with incomes of $75,000 or more are confident that they will have enough to live comfortably, compared with 81% of non-military households in the same income bracket, according to the study.
That percentage drops for military households earning $35,000 to $74,999, of whom 72% are confident of their retirement prospects, versus 61% of civilian households.
Being better positioned for retirement takes planning and patience, according to a recently retired Air Force master sergeant.
“They do pay us well in the military, but it takes a few years to get into those better pay bands,” Nicholas Kurtz, 44, told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday.
After almost 23 years of military service, Kurtz retired last year with more than $600,000 in his Thrift Savings Plan, he said. Add to that his pension, VA disability pay and rental income, and Kurtz is not worried about running out of money in his later retirement years.
“I earned what I feel was a fairly average military salary for my entire career, and I was married,” he said. “My wife did work as well; she didn’t make a ton of money, but between our two incomes, that was enough for us to be able to pay our bills and put money away for retirement.”
When Kurtz was still on active duty last year and stationed in Washington, D.C., their combined income was just under $200,000, he said.
Overall, the survey found that 68% of American workers feel they’ll have enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement, with 21% feeling very confident, according to the survey. Those findings were not statistically significantly different from survey results in 2023.
However, military and civilian households earning less than $35,000 overwhelmingly agree they are not confident they will have enough money for a comfortable retirement, according to the survey.
“There are definitely situations with our younger service members where maybe you got a couple of kids and a wife at home and you’re the sole source of income,” Kurtz said. “It’s going to be really tight for a while, until you start getting some rank under your belt.”
Military households are more likely to report financial assets of $250,000 or more and less likely to consider debt to be a problem than non-military households, the survey said.
“If you’re smart with debt, you can definitely use it to your advantage, especially when you’re young,” Kurtz said. “But you don’t want debt on depreciating assets — that’s a common mistake service members make.”
Automobiles, furniture, computers and appliances are the most common household depreciating assets.
