FORT WORTH, Texas - (Business Wire) While the nation’s personal savings rate has stumbled in recent months, military families are bucking the trend by increasing the dollars they put away for the future, according to the First Command Financial Behaviors Index™. Results of the Index’s semi-annual military survey indicate that the average monthly amount military families put into their retirement accounts and short- and long-term savings increased during the six-month period ending in September. At the same time, savings activity slowed for the rank and file of middle-class Americans.
“Military families and the general population have traded spaces in the hierarchy of savings,” said Scott Spiker, CEO of First Command. “A year ago military families had lower monthly averages for retirement as well as long- and short-term savings. Now they are leading the pack and doing so by relatively wide margins.”
Activity has been especially dramatic in retirement savings. During the third quarter the monthly average for military families totaled $973, up 23 percent from $792 in the first quarter -- the highest dollar amount since the Index’s first semi-annual military survey in the first quarter of 2008. Average retirement savings for the general population totaled $765, down 25 percent from $1,019.
Military families are also saving more for short- and long-term needs. Their average short-term savings totaled $953, up 11 percent from $855. The general population experienced a drop in short-term savings -- $860, down 3 percent from $885. Average long-term savings for military families totaled $459, up 62 percent from $284. The general population also experienced an increase in long-term savings, though considerably smaller in dollars and percentage change. Their average was $298, up 11 percent from $268.
Notably, military households with a financial plan put a higher amount, on average, into savings and investments accounts than military households without a financial plan. During the third quarter, retirement savings for those with a financial plan totaled $1,207 compared to $845 for those without. Similar differences were reported for long-term savings ($789 versus $280) and short-term savings ($1,118 versus $864).
“These latest results lend further support to our ongoing findings that military families have weathered the recent economic turmoil with more optimism and less stress than the general U.S. population,” Spiker said. “Saving for long-term needs is one of the specific behaviors that are associated with feelings of financial hope and optimism. Boosting savings and reducing debt helps people feel less stressed and better able to withstand the ups and downs of the economy.”
About the First Command Financial Behaviors Index™
Compiled by Sentient Decision Science, LLC, the First Command Financial Behaviors Index™ assesses trends among the American public’s financial behaviors, attitudes and intentions through a monthly survey of approximately 1,000 U.S. consumers aged 25 to 70 with annual household incomes of at least $50,000. Results are reported quarterly. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent with a 95 percent level of confidence. (Note: Military data is collected twice a year in September and March through a survey of approximately 410 members of military households. The margin of error is +/- 4.8 percent.) www.firstcommand.com/research
About Sentient Decision Science, LLC
Sentient Decision Science was commissioned by First Command to compile the Financial Behaviors Index™. Sentient is a full-service market research firm with special vertical expertise within the financial services industry. Sentient specializes in advanced research design and statistical analysis of behavioral and attitudinal data.
About First Command
First Command Financial Services and its subsidiaries, including First Command Bank and First Command Financial Planning, assist American families in their efforts to build wealth, reduce debt and pursue their lifetime financial goals and dreams—focusing on consumer behavior as the first and most powerful determinant of results. Through personalized financial plans that emphasize accumulating wealth while reducing risk, First Command Financial Advisors have established lasting relationships with hundreds of thousands of client families since 1958.
First Command Financial Services, Inc. is the parent company of First Command Financial Planning, Inc. (Member SIPC, FINRA) and First Command Bank (Member FDIC). Financial planning services and investment products, including securities products are offered by First Command Financial Planning, Inc. Insurance products and services are offered by First Command Financial Services, Inc. Banking products and services are offered by First Command Bank. Securities products are not FDIC insured, have no bank guarantee and may lose value. In certain states, First Command Financial Services, Inc. is a separately registered domestic corporation and does business in California as “First Command Insurance Services.” A financial plan, by itself, cannot assure that retirement or other financial goals will be met.
First Command Financial Services, Inc.
Mark Leach, 817-569-2419
Media Relations
msleach@firstcommand.com
www.firstcommand.com
