Insights: Financial Capability -- The Financial Welfare of Military Households

Despite significant interest in the welfare of military service members and their families, there has been little scientific research on their household financial situations. More specifically, to the author’s knowledge, there have been very few comparative analyses between military members and their civilian counterparts, between members of the different military services or between different military service components (active duty, Reserve and National Guard)—and none that have controlled for important demographic differences.1 Using data from the 2009 and 2012 National Financial Capability Studies (Military and State-by-State), this paper provides initial descriptive evidence on military members’ household finances using a large national survey of military members and their civilian counterparts.