Military families who work with financial advisors are twice as likely as those who don’t to say their financial lives will improve over the next year, according to a survey by First Command Financial Services Inc., a financial network for military families.

Of the 530 families surveyed, 63 percent of those who work with advisors have confidence their financial lives will improve, while only 31 percent of those without advisors feel that way. Likewise, 59 percent of those who have financial counsel are confident in their ability to retire comfortably, while only 25 percent of those without feel confident.

The survey, called the “First Command Financial Behavior Index,” included responses from commissioned officers and senior NCOs with household incomes of at least $50,000.

“These heightened levels of confidence underscore the positive influence of financial advisors as they coach service members to improve their money behaviors,” says Scott Spiker, CEO of First Command Financial Services.

“Career military families who work with a financial advisor are out-saving their do-it-yourself counterparts, reinforcing the value of working with a professional,” Spiker says. “Strong money behaviors are particularly important today when so many of our men and women in uniform are uncertain about how sequestration may impact their household finances.”

Seventy-three percent of middle-class military families who work with an advisor contributed to savings and retirement accounts during the second quarter. Only 48 percent without advisors were contributing.

Additionally, those with a financial advisor report $22,000 more in accumulated savings and retirement funds than those without an advisor. And those with an advisor carry nearly $58,000 less in debt on average.