VIENNA, Va. — Active-duty Millennials are better money managers than their civilian counterparts, according to a new survey from Navy FCU.
The study reveals that Millennials enlisted in the military are more financially literate and less likely to live paycheck to paycheck than civilian Millennials.
The $55 billion-asset credit union says that information confirms that its efforts to educate young military members are working and that an even greater focus on e-channel delivery is needed to serve Millennials.
Millennials, also known as "Gen Y," are generally described by demographers as those born between the early 1980s to the early 2000s.
Maritza DiSciullo, VP-member research and intelligence, said Navy was not surprised to learn that military Millennials are better prepared financially to meet the future, but the CU did not expect to see how ready they are.
"We know we do a lot to educate young members of the military on all aspects of personal finance," he said. "Many, when they enter the service, don't know anything about direct deposit or credit cards, for example, or can tell a good investment from bad one."
Financial Literacy Efforts Helping
Like many credit unions across the nation that serve the military, Navy provides numerous financial education opportunities to service men and women either on the military base or at the credit union. Those efforts, the study showed, led to stark contrasts between military Millennials and civilians in spending and savings habits, economic confidence and financial readiness. Some of the findings include:
Only 22% of military Millennials report living paycheck-to-paycheck, compared with 40% of Millennials in the general population.
Nearly twice the percentage of military Millennials (44%) compared with their civilian counterparts reported having a household budget they review at least once a year.
Almost three-quarters of those in uniform said they are prepared to confront a personal disaster affecting their finances, compared with 49% of the civilians surveyed.
Sixty percent of active-duty Millennials say they have saved more in 2013 than 2012, about 12% higher than their general population counterparts.
The study was conducted in two parts during the third quarter of 2013. Research firm ORC International reached out to 300 consumers outside the CU's membership. Navy polled 1,700 of its members.
"Our core mission is to ensure the financial stability and success of our members," said DiSciullo. "We want to make sure they are getting the financial information they need to serve them today, 180 days from now and two years later."
In last few years, Navy has made significant enhancements to its mobile and electronic delivery channels in an effort to ensure members can effectively manage their finances wherever they travel or are stationed.
"Part of the survey dealt with mobile technology," he added. "We found that our military Millennials are heavy mobile users, above the general population. So we know that increasing our mobile and electronic offerings is something our young military members want more than ever — not only for convenience but to help them manage their budgets."
DiSciullo acknowledged that Millennials who served in the armed forces may be better money managers than their civilian counterparts partly because "they know they always have to be prepared because they can be redeployed at any time."
