Military Saves

Investing for the Future

• Retirement investing: A lot of the standard retirement-planning advice doesn’t apply to military families. If they stay in the military for 20 years, they’ll receive valuable retirement and health benefits for life. But there’s no partial vesting; if they leave before 20 years, they’ll get nothing. They do, however, have access to some excellent investing resources to build up their own savings. We’ll help families make smart investing decisions – showing them how to make the most of their Thrift Savings Plan, how to benefit from new IRA tax rules for members of the military, how to decide where to invest first, and an easy way to start saving. And we’ll explain about other special investing benefits, such as the military’s savings deposit plan, which actually guarantees a 10% annual return for certain deployed members of the military. We’ll tell the story of a young Air Force pilot who made the most of his investing options and already has a tremendous head start on retirement saving.



• How to avoid military scams: Many scam artists and questionable services target military bases. We’ll talk about the high fees of payday lenders, ID theft attempts, high-commission insurance and investments targeted at military families (and better investing options), and warn people about many other problems. We’ll also talk about legitimate places to go for help, including state securities regulators.

Protecting Your Investments and Your Family

• Insurance: Military families have unique insurance needs. They need to find life insurance policies without a war exclusion and may need to make special arrangements for their auto and homeowners insurance when deployed. They can also get Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance, which is a great deal but may not be enough to cover all of their needs. We’ll help them calculate how much insurance to get, make sure they have the right kind of coverage, and show them how to fill in any gaps.



• Preparing to deploy: We’ll talk about the key steps families need to take before deployment, including the important estate-planning documents, different types of power of attorney, what to do about insurance if your car goes into storage, and some strategies that can help with bill paying while out of the country. We’ll also talk about the special tax laws and other benefits, such as the Savings Deposit Program, which lets certain members of the military earn up to 10% per year on their deposits while deployed.



• Estate planning: A deployment tends to get families motivated to get their estates in order. But military families need to make some important estate-planning decisions even before a member deploys. We’ll talk about the key documents to have – such as a will, health-care proxy and power of attorney -- and how the JAG office can help prepare these documents for free. We’ll also talk about some special documents military families need when both parents are on active duty.



• Taxes: Military families receive a lot of special tax benefits – such as a tax-free housing allowance, tax-free combat pay, special rules for home-sale profits, and more flexibility to choose the state where they pay taxes. We’ll show how to make the most of these special tax rules, which can help you lower your tax bill and preserve more of your savings.

Special Home-Buying Resources for Military Families

• Buying a home: We’ll talk about tax-free housing allowance, special tax rules for home-sale profits, and explain how the VA mortgage works and when that can help. We’ll also talk about issues that military families frequently face, such as how to decide whether to rent or sell your home if you have to move during a down market. We’ll tell the story of an Army family in Texas who made the most of their special military resources to buy their first home, and the key investing decisions they made to prepare for the purchase.



• Moving to a new city: Military families move frequently and need to get up to speed quickly on the services in their new cities – and watch out for scam artists. The Better Business Bureau has a lot of excellent resources to help.

Protecting Your Investments When You Leave the Military

• Preparing to leave the military: When you’re about to leave the military, you need to make many decisions about your benefits and pension. We’ll talk about what employee benefits you’ll need to replace, how to calculate what your pension check could be, and other changes you’ll need to make.



• How to invest after retirement. Even if you have a military pension, you’ll need to decide how to invest the rest of your money after you retire – which has been a big concern during this tumultuous market. We’ll explain how to decide how to invest after retirement, how to protect the savings you’ve built, and tell the story of a retired Navy Air Traffic Controller who made good choices.

Special Benefits for Military Families

• Your rights under the Servicemembers’ Civil Protection Act: Military families have many special legal rights. We’ll explain the rights under this law, including when you can get your interest rates capped at 6% (and what you need to do) and the rules for getting out of a rental or car lease.



• Education benefits: The military offers a lot of educational benefits for members. We’ll explain who is eligible and how to make the most of them, including detailed rules for the new GI bill and how servicemembers and their family members can benefit.