Many military families share the same uncertainties when it comes to planning for the future and sustaining themselves, a recent study found.

Blue Star Families, a nonprofit that supports active duty military families, transitioning families and veteran families, in partnership with Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families, conducted the sixth annual Military Lifestyle Survey from April to May. The organization released the survey findings in late October.

The study found that there is vast uncertainty among active duty servicemen, military spouses and veterans, especially regarding military pay and benefits. The three groups have uncertainty levels of 65 percent, 65 percent and 57 percent, respectively. In addition, the three groups ranked change in retirement as an important concern with 63 percent, 51 percent and 58 percent levels of uncertainty, respectively.

With 6,291 respondents, the survey asked questions that were analyzed quantitatively. The study also had various questions requiring qualitative analysis.

The high amount of respondents is a rare feat for a non-Department of Defense survey, said Cristin Orr Shiffer, deputy director of Research and Policy for Blue Star Families. Shiffer said Blue Star Families conducted the survey because military families are typically hard to measure.

“DOD studies don’t often ask the right questions and service members are often nervous to answer their questions honestly because it is their employer who is asking them,” Shiffer said.

The idea of a military family in the first place is new, Shiffer said. She said the military originally discouraged the idea of a family that went where the active members went. However, nowadays, with the rise of the military family, there comes a new set of problems to anticipate such as schooling and childcare as well as spousal employment.

Deborah Bradbard, a senior research associate for the IVMF, said military life has always held a level or uncertainty. She said this is amplified by the fact that several things are happening simultaneously: first, the military is downsizing; second, pay and benefits are undergoing changes; and third, service members continue to be deployed.

Bradbard added that the changes to pay and benefits include changes to retirement benefits, housing allowances and health care.

“These changes have direct financial implications and they are sometimes additive — service members and military families may not be able to predict how these changes will impact them financially or emotionally,” she said.

She said the issue of service members continuing to be deployed is occurring with fewer resources, human or otherwise.

Shiffer, who is a military spouse, said she encourages all military families to stay educated and to know that there are many resources including Blue Star Families out there for them.

“They should read what’s going on with the DOD and IVMF,” Shiffer said. “Even if you spend 20 plus years in the military, as with any other job, at some point you’ll be transitioning out and maybe that means planning a little earlier.”

Published on November 9, 2015 at 10:03 pm

Contact Joanna: jorland@syr.edu