In honor of Veterans Day, WalletHub conducted a nationally representative survey to gauge people’s opinions about military personal-finance perks and a whole lot more. You can find the complete results in the following infographic.
Key Stats
- 77% of Americans agree that military families experience more financial stress than the average family.
- Nearly a third of people think military spending should decrease due to COVID-19.
- Nearly 2 in 3 people think that poor financial literacy among military personnel is a threat to national security, 7% more than in 2020.
- 76% of Americans don’t think that the military does enough to teach financial literacy.
- 76% of Americans think military members should not have to pay interest on debt when deployed.
- 44% of people think that frontline healthcare workers should be paid more than members of the military and police officers.
Ask the Experts
For more insight about financial issues relating to the military, WalletHub turned to a panel of experts. You can click on the pictures of the experts below to read their bios and see their responses to the following key questions:
- Do you agree with the 77% of respondents who say that military families experience more financial stress than the average family?
- Do you think poor financial literacy among military personnel is a national security threat?
- Should frontline healthcare workers be paid more than police and members of the military?
Ask the Experts
Ph.D. – Lecturer of Finance, Gies College of Business – University of Illinois
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Ph.D. – Nimocks Professor of International Business; Professor of Finance & Economics – Methodist University
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Professor of Education, College of Health and Human Sciences – Colorado State University
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Ph.D. – Professor and Chair of Economics, Villanova School of Business – Villanova University
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Survey Methodology
This report reflects the results of a nationally representative online survey of almost 250 respondents.
After we collected all responses, we normalized the data by age, gender and income so the sample would reflect U.S. demographics.
Full Details Overall
| Should members of the military have to pay interest on debt when deployed? | |
|---|---|
| No | 76% |
| Yes | 24% |
| Should members of the military be excused from having to pay bills while deployed? | |
| Yes | 66% |
| No | 34% |
| Should firefighters, police, EMS and other first responders get the same credit card perks as military personnel? | |
| Yes | 68% |
| No | 32% |
| Does the military do enough to teach financial literacy? | |
| No | 76% |
| Yes | 24% |
| Should members of the military have to pay income taxes while deployed? | |
| No | 59% |
| Yes | 41% |
| How should U.S. military spending change as a result of COVID-19? | |
| No change | 48% |
| We should spend less | 32% |
| We should spend more | 20% |
| Who should be paid the most? | |
| Frontline healthcare workers | 44% |
| Members of the military | 37% |
| Police officers | 19% |
| Is poor financial literacy among military personnel a threat to national security? | |
| Yes | 62% |
| No | 38% |
| Do military families experience more or less financial stress than the average family? | |
| More | 77% |
| Less | 23% |
Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.