Your Army Military Benefits & Career: Financial Planning for Service Members and Veterans

Are you an Army service member or veteran? Get the resources you need and expert insights from financial professionals who specialize in helping service members and veterans make the most of their compensation and benefits.

Whether you’ve recently enlisted or you’ve moved up the ranks to serve as a military officer, it’s important to make smart money moves with your income and benefits. For example:

✅ Do you know the right moves to make to get the greatest value from the military benefits available to you?

✅If you’re thinking about leaving the Army for the private sector or on track to retire in a few years, are you taking the right steps today to ensure you will receive all of the compensation and benefits that you’ve earned?

Get the Most Value from Your Army Benefits and Compensation Package

Throughout the year, the Army provides service members with updates about their benefits ranging from health insurance to retirement plans like the Thrift Savings Plan (similar to a 401(k) plan), and pension plan. While the Army offers many useful resources and access to knowledgeable staff who can assist with questions, you’ll also find financial professionals not affiliated with the Army who specialize in helping Army service members make the most of their income and benefits.

Whether you’re based in the US or stationed overseas, you may have questions about your compensation package and benefits better suited for a financial professional who can offer unbiased advice and guidance.

For example, sensitive topics like discussing the steps you should take before transitioning into civilian life or deciding when you should plan to retire are all conversations that may be more comfortable with a trusted financial advisor.

💡 In the Q&A below, you’ll gain insights from financial advisors who work with Army service members and veterans to help them make smart decisions to get the most value from their compensation and benefits, reduce their money stress, and prepare for a comfortable retirement.

🙋‍♀️ Do you have questions not yet answered? Use the form below to submit questions anonymously and watch this article for updates with answers to your questions. You can also reach out to the financial advisors below to set up an introductory call or contact them with your questions by email.

💸 Smart Money Insights for Army Service Members & Veterans

This page is organized into sections to help you quickly find the information you need and get answers to your questions:

1. Q&A: Financial Planning Tips for Army Service Members & Veterans
2. Get Answers to Your Questions About Your Army Benefits and Career
3. Browse Related Articles

Q&A: Financial Planning Tips for Army Service Members & Veterans

Answers to Service Member Questions with Dawn Mabery Chestnut, CFP®, MSPFP, MPAS™, CFEI

Dawn Mabery is a financial advisor based in Washington, DC who specializes in offering financial planning services to Army service members. Dawn helps her clients get the most value from their Army benefits and compensation package so they can enjoy life and feel confident about their financial future.

Q: Is there a particular benefit available to Army service members you feel isn’t as well utilized or understood as it should be?

Dawn: How the retirement match works isn’t very well understood. There are many variables, including the amount of the automatic contribution and when it begins, not to be confused with the amount of the matching contribution, when it begins, and when the service member becomes fully vested in these contributions. The big picture is that the service member generally must contribute 5% to get the full 5% match and remain a service member for at least 2 years to become vested (not forfeit the Army’s contributions and corresponding earnings).

Q: Beyond the Army benefits for retirement savings, are there other types of benefits offered by the Army that you find valuable to discuss with your clients?

Dawn: Beyond retirement benefits, service members also get GI Bill benefits. This is commonly understood as education benefits for tuition and books. However, it also includes a monthly housing allowance (and other benefits) which can be used to offset housing costs.

Q: For Army service members thinking about leaving to take a job in the private sector, what actions do you recommend they take before resigning and shortly thereafter?

Dawn: Before resigning, I suggest a thorough compare and contrast analysis so they are fully aware of what benefits they may be giving up and the potential increased costs they’re likely to face.

Pension: They should have confirmation of how many years they’ve already spent in service. That’s because, generally, after 20 years, they are likely eligible for a pension at retirement.

Depending on their type of service, the Army’s calculation of qualifying years of service can differ. Leaving before securing the pension may not be prudent, especially if they’ve already invested a significant amount of time and are just a short distance from accumulating the necessary years of service to receive the pension. Also, they should compare and contrast benefits.

Medical Coverage: The Army’s medical system, Tricare, has some of the least expensive costs I’ve seen. Many of the deductibles fall under $900 compared to the thousands of dollars that most of the rest of society must pay.

Q: For Army service members who have managed their finances on their own to this point, what would you suggest they consider to help them decide if they should begin working with a financial advisor at this stage in their lives?

Dawn: Suppose the service member is planning to make a big purchase. In that case, it’s probably time to begin working with a financial planner if they’ve managed their finances independently up to this point.

For example, buying a home is a major investment. Service members are afforded many benefits to help make homebuying a reality, including competitive interest rates, often without requiring a down payment or private mortgage insurance.

Even with these perks, having a financial advisor comprehensively review their financial circumstance is worthwhile to ensure the home purchase is an obligation they can afford. Doing so could prevent the service member from realizing after taking on such a responsibility that they were unaware of the full scope of the housing financial commitment before purchase and or the full scope of all their other competing financial obligations.

Get to Know Dawn Mabery, Financial Advisor for Army Service Members:

View Dawn’s profile page on Wealthtender or visit her website to learn more.

🙋‍♀️ Have Questions About Your Army Benefits or Career?

📰 Browse Related Articles

Are you ready to enjoy life more with less money stress?

Sign up to receive weekly insights from Wealthtender with useful money tips and fresh ideas to help you achieve your financial goals.