Agence France-Presse,
WASHINGTON: Defense Department officials want servicemembers and their families to be aware of in-house programs that can help them better manage their money and stay out of debt.
For example, the 2-year-old Military Saves program is designed to teach servicemembers and families how to save and invest their hard-earned dollars and stay out of debt, said Army Maj. John Johnson, director of the Defense Department's Armed Forces Tax Council.
“The whole idea behind it is to encourage people to save,” Major Johnson said, noting this year's Military Saves Week is Feb. 24 through March 2. Military Saves is part of the nationwide America Saves program, he noted.
During Military Saves Week, installations across the country will offer money-management seminars and distribute information to encourage people to save money, Major Johnson explained.
On a related subject, the major noted that servicemembers this year can opt for a split disbursement of their tax refunds, with one portion going into a checking account and another into a savings account.
The military's Thrift Savings Plan program, he said, is another method servicemembers can employ to fatten their savings accounts.
TSP “is really an underutilized benefit,” Major Johnson said.
Non-deployed servicemembers can earmark up to $15,500 annually for tax-deferred TSP accounts, he explained, while servicemembers deployed in combat zones can contribute up to $46,000 into their TSP account.
“Everyone should be saving money, anyway. TSP is another option,” Major Johnson said. Starting a TSP account, he said, also provides a lower-cost method of investing, compared to investing in a traditional mutual fund.
The department's financial-management programs assist servicemembers so that they don't have to worry about money issues when they deploy, the major said.
“It's all about readiness,” he said.
