The Financial Welfare of Military Households: Descriptive Evidence from Recent Surveys

Using survey data from large national samples of military and civilian households, this analysis provides evidence on the differences in financial decision-making and outcomes between comparable civilian and military members, between members of the military Services (Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines) and between members of the Service components (Active Duty, Reserves and National Guard). I find that military members have better solvency and savings outcomes but worse credit card outcomes relative to comparable civilians. Within the military, I find few differences in the financial outcomes between members of the Services and similarly few differences between members of the different components. I briefly discuss directions for future research and some policy implications. JEL Codes: D12, D14, D18, G28, H65 William Skimmyhorn Office of Economic and Manpower Analysis, Department of Social Sciences United States Military Academy West Point, NY 10996 [email protected] (845) 938-4285 Note: Thanks to Susan Carter, Gary Mottola, John Smith, Christine Kieffer and Bud Schneeweis for helpful comments. This paper was prepared with financial support from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. The opinions provided herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the FINRA Foundation, the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense.