Financial readiness and the new veteran
Jamie Warder, President of USAA Federal Saving Bank, addresses the national convention.

Financial readiness and the new veteran

The millennial generation of veterans and their families – those between 18 and 35 years old – are expected to soon fit into the biggest demographic category in the nation, the president of USAA Bank told thousands of American Legion members Sept. 2.

Jamie Warder, who leads banking operations for the 11-million member association and the Legion’s preferred provider of financial services, described today’s young veterans this way, as part of the 97th American Legion National Convention in Baltimore:

“They have proven to be outstanding warriors. They possess all the courage and passion of their foremothers and forefathers who served before them, and they have proved themselves over several decades in service to our nation. They are the most educated generation, and most technologically sophisticated generation, in our nation’s history. They are literally transforming communication, transforming commerce and transforming whole business models.”

Innovations in other areas, like military readiness, have not translated to financial readiness, Warder explained. Nearly half of the nation’s veterans and families of that demographic window are living paycheck to paycheck and accumulating debt at a rate that endangers their financial futures.

“Our millennials are struggling in basic financial readiness,” Warder said. “I see this every day in my job. I am sure many of you see it in your children and grandchildren. It’s a real issue. As a matter of fact, millennials are considered the most financially ill-prepared generation in our nation’s history. They are missing some of those basic skills – skills like spend less than you earn, put money away each month for retirement, and for a rainy-day fund, protect yourself and your family and your belongings, and prepare basic estate-planning documents.”

To address the issue, USAA has conducted no fewer than 850 financial management classes on active-duty military installations in the last year, Warder explained. “That’s two or three a day.” He added that every USAA media channel now offers financial tools and guidance, including a module for any veteran to establish a financial readiness score and take guided steps to improve it.

USAA and The American Legion have worked together to develop a dedicated web page to provide personal finance assistance and access points to USAA’s online tools. Visit www.legion.org/usaa to learn more.

Warder said that with USAA’s educational tools and services, and American Legion mentorship of young veterans who need help understanding the basics of financial planning, “we can reverse this trend. I really think we have a problem and an opportunity.”