Military Saves 29 June 2009
Coordinating Committee and
Partners Meetings
NGB – Joint Family Program
Defense Senior Leadership
Volunteer Workshop
Spouses’ Conference
Department
of Defense
Financial Readiness
Office of Personal Finance
Military OneSource Center
OSD, Military Community and Family Policy
NGB – Joint Family Program
Defense Senior Leadership
Volunteer Workshop
Spouses’ Conference
Topics
• Financial Readiness Campaign
• Financial Roadshow
• FINRA Military Retirement Confidence Survey
• Questions
NGB – Joint Family Program
Defense Senior Leadership
Volunteer Workshop
Spouses’
Conference
Good news……?
• Our Service members and their families are not immune from the
storm, but they do have some shelter:

Guaranteed paycheck

Spousal employment programs

Low-cost child care programs

Medical/dental benefits

Commissary/Exchange privileges & other installation support

Special pays & moving allowances

Tax-free housing and subsistence allowances

Only 25-30% own homes as primary residence
NGB – Joint Family Program
Defense Senior Leadership
Volunteer Workshop
Spouses’ Conference
Mission Success vs Mission Failure
Good credit
Financial stability
Regular savings
Contribute to TSP
Don’t Opt-Out for SGLI
Low % loans
Security Clearance
Bad credit
Bankruptcy
No emergency savings
No retirement savings
No SGLI/insurance
Predatory loans
No Clearance
“Financial Readiness = Mission Readiness”
NGB – Joint Family Program
Defense Senior Leadership
Volunteer Workshop
Spouses’ Conference
The DoD Financial Readiness Campaign
• Started in 2003 to reduce the stressors associated with financial
issues on Service members and families
• Education, resources, protections
• Federal, state, local/non-profit outreach and programs
• Platform represented by 8 “Financial Pillars”
DoD has been emphasizing financial readiness as a critical
component of mission readiness long before the current
economic crisis:
NGB – Joint Family Program
Defense Senior Leadership
Volunteer Workshop
Spouses’ Conference
The Pillars of Personal Financial Readiness
Good
Credit
Financial
Stability
Routine
Savings
TSP/SDP
SGLI/
Insurance
Low %
Loans
MWR
Security
Clearance
NGB – Joint Family Program
Defense Senior Leadership
Volunteer Workshop
Spouses’ Conference
Challenges
Changing Community = Changing Services
• Delivering correct, user-friendly
information
• Reaching Guard and Reserve families
• Reaching geo-isolated families
• Meeting emerging expectations of new
generations
• “High Tech-High Touch”
• Building a worldwide, trusted
communication system to connect with
troops and families
The Digital Generation
“The Right Information, at the Right Time, to the Right People”
NGB – Joint Family Program
Defense Senior Leadership
Volunteer Workshop
Spouses’ Roadshows
Conference
Financial
• Tools for installation commanders upon request
• Tailored to the needs of the installation


Assist the commander, installation PFM to reach troops & families
Designed to augment, not replace, existing efforts
• 1-day events which feature:





Financial personalities as keynote speakers
Workshops from library of topics
One-on-one financial counseling
Stay behind teams
Youth financial education activities
• Installations encouraged to utilize all installation resources to
include Banks and Credit Unions
NGB – Joint Family Program
Defense Senior Leadership
Volunteer Workshop
Spouses’ Conference
Guest Speakers
Sammy the Rabbit
Terry Savage
Jason Goodman
"America's Money Answers Man"
The Savage Truth on Money
NGB – Joint Family Program
Defense Senior Leadership
Volunteer Workshop
Spouses’ Conference
Workshops












Take Five: What I Wish I Had Known About Personal Finance
Better Than a Budget: Develop a Spending Plan That Will Keep You On Track
The Perils of Plastic: Avoid Drowning in Debt... Charge Wisely!
Dream Big - Plan Now! Make Your Ideal Retirement a Reality
Pay Yourself First: Why You Should Sign Up for the Thrift Savings Plan Today
Have You Fed Your Pig Today? Simple Tips for Saving & Investing
Ready for Everything? Insurance Essentials for the Service Member With or Without
a Family
The Wheels You Want: Successful Car-Buying Strategies
Home, Sweet Home: Strategies for Home-Buying and Protecting Against Foreclosure
You’ve Earned It! Making the Most of Your Military Benefits
Before You Take Off: Financial Planning for Deployment
Don’t Lose It! How to Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft
NGB – Joint Family Program
Defense Senior Leadership
Volunteer Workshop
Spouses’ Conference
Military OneSource
• Military One Source (www.militaryonesource.com)

24/7 world-wide assistance, on-line and by phone

“Money” Section

Telephonic financial counseling or face-to-face upon request



Effective 17 Nov: Partnership with National Foundation for
Credit Council (NFCC)
Mortgage/foreclosure assistance
Referrals, connections to key helping agencies
NGB – Joint Family Program
Defense Senior Leadership
Volunteer Workshop
Spouses’ Conference
FINRA Military Financial Confidence Survey
• Military more likely to take an active role in financial planning
• Military has more realistic view of financial requirements/ preparations
• More outreach required to raise awareness of TSP
• Military financial educational programs and services are positively
influencing financial behavior
NGB – Joint Family Program
Defense Senior Leadership
Volunteer Workshop
TSP Participation
Spouses’
Conference
Retirement Plan Participation Rates (TSP)
Total by Paygrade - Active Duty - Mar '06 to Mar '09
Participation Rates
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Mar-06
Oct-06
Mar-07
E1-E4
E5-E6
Oct-07
E7-E9
Mar-08
O1-O3
Oct-08
Mar-09
O4-O6
Retirement Plan Participation Rates (TSP)
Total by Paygrade - Active Duty - Mar '06 to Mar '09
Participation Rates
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Mar-06
Oct-06
Mar-07
E1-E4
E5-E6
Oct-07
E7-E9
Mar-08
O1-O3
Oct-08
O4-O6
Mar-09
NGB – Joint Family Program
Defense Senior Leadership
Volunteer Workshop
Great News!
Spouses’
Conference
• Military Money magazine
• Americans Well-Informed on Automobile Retailing Economics
(AWARE) reports:
“America’s military personnel are particularly prepared for this
major financial event in their lives, more so than Americans in
general….they are more likely than the average consumer to
understand the process of buying and financing a vehicle, and to
spend time researching their options”
45
Military Members
Research Financing
Options
Respondents who
Completed > 3 hrs of
Research
40
35
30
25
20
15
Military
General Pop
10
5
0
1
2
3
4
1-Credit Card, 2-Vehicle Financing, 3-Furniture/Appliance Financing, 4-Home Improvement Loan
NGB – Joint Family Program
Defense Senior Leadership
Volunteer Workshop
Spouses’ Conference
Join us to help Service members
and Families make sound
financial decisions.
Thank you for your service to our
Military!
NGB – Joint Family Program
Defense Senior Leadership
Volunteer Workshop
Spouses’ Conference
Questions?
Dave Julian
Director, Office of Personal Finance
dave.julian@moscenter.us
703-908-8603
Military Saves Week
2009 Evaluation
Selected Observations
Steve Holt
HoltSolutions
June 29, 2009
SurveyMonkey Instruments
Designed to facilitate standardized selfreporting
Limited use:
• Project Officer Reports – 30
• National Partner Reports – 17
• Financial Institution Reports – 12
Project Officers -- Audience
Enlisted personnel
# saying it was
a primary
audience
28
Officers
Spouses
Civilian personnel
14
14
8
Children
n = 30
Community institutions
7
2
Audience
Project Officers -- Involvement
Office/Personnel
Family programs office
Command section
n = 30
Senior enlisted advisor
Public affairs
On-installation credit
union
Comptroller
On-installation schools
# saying was
very involved
21
11
10
10
10
2
2
Project Officers -- Methods
Promotional Method
n = 30
# saying there
was
high effort
Material to personnel
21
Briefings for personnel
16
Participation in internal
events
1-on-1 financial
counseling
Financial education
classes
Material to spouses
16
15
15
14
National Partners Reporting
Navy-Marine Corps Relief Societies
6
Other military offices
4
National membership organizations
3
Non-profit organizations
2
National association of affiliates
1
Financial institution
1
National Partners -- Methods
Promotional Method
E-mails
Participation in local
events
Participation in national
events
n = 17
# saying there
was high effort
9
9
8
Information on website
7
Newsletters
4
Press releases or events
3
Conferences
3
Financial Institutions -- Incentives
Savings Incentives
n = 12
#
offering
Special fee or no fee accounts
7
Financial seminars
5
Special interest rates for accounts
4
Gifts or matches for opening
accounts
Gifts or matches for adding to
accounts
3
2
Prizes or drawings
1
[no savings incentives offered]
1
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Au l-0
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J a -07
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J a -08
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# of Pledges per Month
Savers Pledges (Military Saves)
15,000
12,000
9,000
6,000
3,000
0
Leadership – Interest/Expertise
Coord. Comm.-19
MEAN
SCORE
Std
Dev.
Partners Comm.-7
MEAN
SCORE
Std
Dev.
What am I (my organization) most interested in
doing?
Building supportive
community efforts
4.26
1.41
4.14
1.46
Developing military
leadership commitment
4.16
1.63
5.43
0.73
Promoting debt
reduction
3.79
1.40
3.43
1.29
Promoting financial
education
2.26
1.45
2.57
1.18
Promoting
savings
3.47
1.57
2.43
1.76
Providing financial
education
3.05
1.88
3.00
1.51
Leadership – Expectations
Coord. Comm.-19
MEAN
SCORE
Std
Dev.
Partners Comm.-7
MEAN
SCORE
Std
Dev.
What should Military Saves be most focused
on doing?
Building supportive
community efforts
3.53
1.70
4.00
1.00
Developing military
leadership commitment
3.16
1.98
2.83
1.21
Promoting debt
reduction
3.58
0.94
4.33
1.80
Promoting financial
education
3.26
1.62
3.00
1.29
Promoting
savings
2.84
1.42
1.50
0.76
Providing financial
education
4.63
1.81
5.33
0.75
Leadership – Self-Assessment
Coord. Comm.-19
MEAN
SCORE
Std
Dev.
Partners Comm.-7
MEAN
SCORE
Std
Dev.
Where do I see M.S. putting its efforts
currently?
Building supportive
community efforts
3.11
1.55
2.83
0.69
Developing military
leadership commitment
3.84
1.72
2.83
1.45
Promoting debt
reduction
3.58
1.14
4.67
1.49
Promoting financial
education
3.58
1.60
4.33
1.25
Promoting
savings
1.89
1.25
1.33
0.47
Providing financial
education
5.00
1.26
5.00
1.00
Leadership Survey -- Observations
• Military leadership development –
considerable disparity
• Coord. Comm. lack of clarity & consensus
on desired focus of Military Saves
• Financial education well-represented, but
not desired focus for Military Saves
• Debt reduction valued less than promoting
savings
• Role of community building efforts?
A Four-Step Model for Military Saves
1. Create an information environment
promoting a clear direction of action
2. Provide the opportunity for a
personal commitment to action
3. Foster the availability of tools to
translate commitment into action
4. Observe evidence of action
Create information environment
ACTIVITY
MEASUREMENT
MS campaigns
conducted by
department- & servicewide organizations,
installations/
commands, program
offices
Self-reporting of
participation (through
appropriate channels of
communication)
Provide opportunity for commitment
ACTIVITY
Savers Pledge for
military personnel
MEASUREMENT
Number of Savers
Pledges in America
Saves database, with a
reach goal (over a
period such as 5 yrs) of
30% of all military
personnel & minimum
expectation of 10%
Foster availability of tools for action
ACTIVITY
MEASUREMENT
Military-associated
financial institutions
offering MS-identified
products that promote
savings
Number and availability
of MS-identified
products (reported by
financial institution
intermediaries)
DFAS adopting “optout” policies for savings
vehicles available
through payroll
deduction
Creation of opt-out
policies for emergency
savings accounts, TSP,
& SDP
F.I. Intermediary Reporting (2009)
Armed Forces Bank / AFB of CA
– 20 of 36 on-base institutions involved
– all waived minimum balance requirement for
12 months for regular savings accts opened
during MSW
– 221 new accounts opened
Community Bank Overseas
– 560 adult savings accounts opened
– 309 scheduled direct deposits set up for
savings accounts
– 111 CDs opened
– 100 scheduled transfers set up for savings
accounts
Observe evidence of action
ACTIVITY
Monitoring of account
activity by militaryassociated financial
institutions and DFAS
MEASUREMENT
Use of identified
savings products
(reported by financial
institution
intermediaries & DFAS)
Contact Information
Steve Holt
HoltSolutions
4545 Connecticut Ave. NW, #1011
Washington, DC 20008
holtsolutions@earthlink.net
(202) 758-3937 - voice
(202) 758-3940 - fax
2009 Rebranding
BRAND CHALLENGES:
• Multiple sub-brands with various design and copy
executions lead to brand degradation in the
marketplace
• Confusion around what America Saves means –
Religious? Money? Other?
• Consumers are intimidated by the word “wealth”
• Consumers aspire to saving more than just change
and need to see that starting small can get big
results
• Military Saves can not use quarter icon
• Current logo and icon appear dated
• Current color palette is producing challenges and
does not allow for design flexibility
New Brand: Positioning and
Summary
Motivational/Inspirational
We inspire the non-saver to join America Saves and start
saving money with this idea. Many other people have
committed to saving and you can too, even if you only have
a quarter or pocket change to save. You can be included in
that group of savers.
Summary Paragraph
America Saves believe there is strength in numbers. You
can join the many people who have already committed to
saving towards a goal – home ownership, tuition, debt
repayment, even retirement. And you can start saving with
the smallest of numbers. Because at America Saves, we
also believe that if you can save a quarter, you can save.
Start with any amount, reach any goal. Join us. The
difference between dreams and a reality is a savings
The new logo and tagline address campaign
goals and
challenges while supporting the developed
positioning.
Executional Considerations
• Green color and $ address that we are talking about saving
money
• “Start Small. Think Big.” is in non-intimidating consumer
language and drives home the point that every bit helps –
very aspirational
• Circles graphic
– Maintains current quarter icon
– Symbolizes growth over time
– Allows America Saves to support branding throughout design
pieces
Sub-Brands
In developing a sub-brand strategy, we wanted to make
sure to
leverage the national brand to assist in supporting subbrands.
Colors
In selecting primary and secondary color palettes, we
wanted
to make sure they were truly “ownable” for America
Saves
NOTE: Unless you have marketing dollars to invest in
primary colors (ex.,
Using Sub-Branded Logos
Logo Use (continued)
When combining the logo with other elements, the logo should be a prominent part of the
overall design. When using a colored background, be sure to use colors from the brand
palette, and always keep the logo in white. The logotype and tagline should not be
retypeset, altered or modified in any way. The logo can appear without the tagline, but
should be used with the tagline where possible.