Although being in the military creates obstacles to financial stability that going to college doesn’t, he says, the military does make financial literacy a priority.
“Every service teaches it in basic training, first duty assignments and schools to develop basic military specialties,” Schneeweis says.
If a military member is about to get married, have a child, or receive a promotion, financial counseling is mandatory and free.
In addition, when service members have financial emergencies, the’ don’t have to go to pawnshops or payday lenders as often as civilians do, thanks to non-profit relief agencies near bases providing small-dollar loans interest free.
In some cases, the loans are converted into grants.
As veterans, former service members have been seduced by affinity fraud from financial advisors.
The advisors, former military too, speak the same language, know what buttons to push and can appeal to the patriotism that helped get the victims into the military in the first place.
Looking ahead, 2018 promises to be a landmark year in getting young military on the path to retirement security, says Schneeweis.
In January, new military enlistees will be automatically enrolled in the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan for the first time.
The default contribution will be 3 percent of base pay, the same percentage as many 401(k)s at large private employers.