Military veterans who’ve transitioned into the workforce often don’t get the attention they deserve when it comes to retirement planning assistance.
This is partly due the fact that we assume most Veterans already receive military retirement benefits, but there is a large proportion of Veterans that, although they may receive other types of benefits, do not leave the military with retirement benefits.
In fact, 83% of men and women exit the armed forces without any retirement funds. Employers can look out for best interests of their working Veterans by providing them with knowledgeable retirement planning counsel that can offer them advantageous retirement benefits options.
Understanding Military Retirement Benefits
To truly realize the importance of retirement planning assistance to working Veterans, it helps to identify the benefits that they might be receiving from the military. Benefits that your working Veterans may be already receiving include:
- Disability Compensation
- Veterans Pension
- VA Medical Care
Some working Veterans with the appropriate eligibility may, in fact, be receiving retirement benefits from the military and the best thing employers can do for them with regard to retirement planning assistance is offer them advisers that are familiar with those benefits so that they can discuss whether or not their current options are the best for their future.
Understanding military retirement benefits is the first step in offering help to service members.
For working Veterans that do not receive retirement benefits, they most likely already have medical coverage and, if applicable, disability benefits which makes retirement planning a major area in need of assistance.
Employers need the expertise of benefits advisers to understand what the needs of their Veterans really are. Look out for your Veteran workers by making sure they have all the right benefits at their disposal.
Advising Veterans on Their Retirement Options
Did you know that among other eligibility requirements, for a Veteran to be able to reap the benefits of a military retirement fund, they have to be in the service for at least 20 years?
This all-or-nothing premise means there are countless working Veterans that may have served for years in the military, done several tours overseas and, yet, when they decided it was time to leave the service, they left without any retirement to rollover.
The problem with retirement benefits has not gone unnoticed. Currently, there are plans for restructuring that would accommodate service members who get out before their 20-year eligibility requirement.
The proposed plan would offer active duty members a 401K-like plan to contribute to during their time. While this is a great stride for the military and those who are currently serving, it, unfortunately, came too late for those who have already left the military to start making careers for themselves in the workforce.
While there are plans to restructure benefits for service members, it’s
The world of military benefits is a complex and convoluted one which is why it’s so important that employers find the right benefits consultant to assist them in choosing which retirement benefits will provide the greatest value to their working Veterans.
Whether it’s an IRA, 401K, or Pension program, employers should be trying their very best to take care of the Veterans on their workforce. Chances are, advisers, like The Olson Group, are your roadmap to a happy and nurtured Veteran workforce.
Let The Olson Group’s knowledgeable retirement advisers guide your working Veterans on their retirement planning to help them make up for savings they may be missing out on.