military saves 29 june 2009 coordinating committee and partners meetings

Military Saves 29 June 2009 Coordinating Committee and

Partners Meetings

Defense Senior Leadership Spouses’ Conference

NGB – Joint Family ProgramVolunteer Workshop

Department of Defense

Financial Readiness

Office of Personal Finance

Military OneSource Center

OSD, Military Community and Family Policy

Office of Personal Finance

Military OneSource Center

OSD, Military Community and Family Policy



Topics

• Financial Readiness Campaign

• Financial Roadshow

• FINRA Military Retirement Confidence Survey

• Questions


NGB – Joint Family ProgramVolunteer WorkshopGood 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



“Financial Readiness = Mission Readiness”

Good creditFinancial stability Regular savingsContribute to TSPDon’t Opt-Out for SGLILow % loansSecurity Clearance

Bad creditBankruptcy No emergency savingsNo retirement savingsNo SGLI/insurance Predatory loansNo Clearance

Mission Success vs Mission Failure



• 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”

The DoD Financial Readiness Campaign

DoD has been emphasizing financial readiness as a critical component of mission readiness long before the current

economic crisis:

DoD has been emphasizing financial readiness as a critical component of mission readiness long before the current

economic crisis:



The Pillars of Personal Financial ReadinessGood Credit

FinancialStability

RoutineSavings TSP/SDP

SGLI/Insurance

Low %Loans

SecurityClearanceMWR



“The Right Information, at the Right Time, to the Right People”

• 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

Changing Community = Changing Services

Challenges

The Digital Generation



• 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

Financial Roadshows



The Savage Truth on Money "America's Money Answers Man"

Sammy the Rabbit John Sileo

“Think Like a Spy”

Terry SavageJason Goodman

Guest Speakers

Identity Theft Expert

Dr. Robert Manning

Credit Card Nation



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

Workshops



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



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



Retirement Plan Participation Rates (TSP) Total by Paygrade - Active Duty - Mar '06 to Mar '09

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

Mar-06 Oct-06 Mar-07 Oct-07 Mar-08 Oct-08 Mar-09

Par

ticip

atio

n R

ates

E1-E4 E5-E6 E7-E9 O1-O3 O4-O6

Retirement Plan Participation Rates (TSP) Total by Paygrade - Active Duty - Mar '06 to Mar '09

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

Mar-06 Oct-06 Mar-07 Oct-07 Mar-08 Oct-08 Mar-09

Par

ticip

atio

n R

ates

E1-E4 E5-E6 E7-E9 O1-O3 O4-O6

TSP Participation


NGB – Joint Family ProgramVolunteer WorkshopGreat News!

• 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”

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

1 2 3 4

Military

General Pop

1-Credit Card, 2-Vehicle Financing, 3-Furniture/Appliance Financing, 4-Home Improvement Loan

Military MembersResearch Financing

OptionsRespondents who

Completed > 3 hrs ofResearch



Join us to help Service members and Families make sound

financial decisions.

Thank you for your service to our Military!



Questions?

Dave JulianDirector, Office of Personal Finance

[email protected]

Military Saves Week 2009 Evaluation

Selected Observations

Steve HoltHoltSolutionsJune 29, 2009

SurveyMonkey Instruments

Designed to facilitate standardized self-reporting

Limited use:

• Project Officer Reports – 30

• National Partner Reports – 17

• Financial Institution Reports – 12

Project Officers -- Audience

Audience# saying it was

a primary audience

Enlisted personnel 28

Officers 14

Spouses 14

Civilian personnel 8

Children 7

Community institutions 2n = 30

Project Officers -- Involvement

Office/Personnel# saying wasvery involved

Family programs office 21

Command section 11

Senior enlisted advisor 10

Public affairs 10

On-installation credit union

10

Comptroller 2

On-installation schools 2

Exchange 1

n = 30

Project Officers -- Methods

Promotional Method# saying there

washigh effort

Material to personnel 21

Briefings for personnel 16

Participation in internal events

16

1-on-1 financial counseling

15

Financial education classes

15

Material to spouses 14

Press releases/events (internal)

12

n = 30

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# saying there was high effort

E-mails 9

Participation in local events

9

Participation in national events

8

Information on website 7

Newsletters 4

Press releases or events 3

Conferences 3

n = 17

Financial Institutions -- Incentives

Savings Incentives#

offering

Special fee or no fee accounts 7

Financial seminars 5

Special interest rates for accounts 4

Gifts or matches for opening accounts

3

Gifts or matches for adding to accounts

2

Prizes or drawings 1

[no savings incentives offered] 1

n = 12

Savers Pledges (Military Saves)

0

3,000

6,000

9,000

12,000

15,000

# o

f Ple

dg

es p

er M

on

th

Leadership – Interest/ExpertiseCoord. Comm.-19 Partners Comm.-7

MEAN SCORE

StdDev.

MEAN SCORE

StdDev.

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 debtreduction 3.79 1.40 3.43 1.29

Promoting financial education 2.26 1.45 2.57 1.18

Promotingsavings 3.47 1.57 2.43 1.76

Providing financial education 3.05 1.88 3.00 1.51

Leadership – ExpectationsCoord. Comm.-19 Partners Comm.-7

MEAN SCORE

StdDev.

MEAN SCORE

StdDev.

What should Military Saves be most focused on doing?







Leadership – Self-AssessmentCoord. Comm.-19 Partners Comm.-7

MEAN SCORE

StdDev.

MEAN SCORE

StdDev.

Where do I see M.S. putting its efforts currently?







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 Saves1. 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- & service-wide organizations, installations/ commands, program offices

Self-reporting of participation (through appropriate channels of communication)

Provide opportunity for commitment


Savers Pledge for military personnel

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 actionACTIVITY MEASUREMENT

Military-associated financial institutions offering MS-identified products that promote savings

DFAS adopting “opt-out” policies for savings vehicles available through payroll deduction

Number and availability of MS-identified products (reported by financial institution intermediaries)

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


Monitoring of account activity by military-associated financial institutions and DFAS

Use of identified savings products (reported by financial institution intermediaries & DFAS)

Observe evidence of action

Contact Information

Steve HoltHoltSolutions4545 Connecticut Ave. NW, #1011Washington, DC [email protected](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 SummaryMotivational/InspirationalWe 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 account.

TaglineStart small. Think big.

ToneInspirational, motivational, encouraging, supportive, straightforward.

The new logo and tagline address campaign goals andchallenges 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 toleverage the national brand to assist in supporting sub-brands.

ColorsIn selecting primary and secondary color palettes, we wantedto make sure they were truly “ownable” for America Saves

NOTE: Unless you have marketing dollars to invest in primary colors (ex.,

McDonald’s), you want to make sure colors are unique and “ownable”.

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.

military saves 29 june 2009 coordinating committee and partners meetings

Documents

financial personalities

financial counselingstay

financial issues

military community

installation resources

military saves

installation supportspecial

installation commanders