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Thanking veterans for their service and supporting their financial well-being

Servicemembers raising the flag

Every year, Americans rightfully acknowledge the service and sacrifices of our nation’s veterans. While Veterans Day began as Armistice Day to mark the anniversary of the end of World War I, Congress recognized the importance of acknowledging all who raise their hand and heed the call to defend our country.

After nearly two decades of sustained conflict overseas, the veteran population stands at approximately 19 million. At the Consumer Bureau, we are proud of the work we are doing, including that of our Office of Servicemember Affairs (OSA), to help veterans who are facing financial issues. By educating servicemembers, veterans, and their families about financial challenges, supervising financial entities, reviewing consumer complaints, and enforcing consumer financial laws, the Consumer Bureau ensures that we serve veterans. 

In our work, we’ve created new knowledge about the financial well-being of veterans. We developed the first consumer-driven definition of financial well-being and a way to measure it. This definition goes beyond traditional financial metrics like income to measure how individuals feel about their present and future financial security and financial freedom of choice. 

According to our recent survey data, veterans as a group appear to experience somewhat higher levels of financial well-being than the average American. But, these average findings do not apply to all veterans studied. In fact, the financial well-being scores of veterans vary widely, with pockets of veterans whose financial well-being lags behind their peers. If you’re wondering about your own financial well-being, we built an interactive tool that provides you with a score and proactive steps that you can take to improve your score.

OSA’s work on behalf of veterans is an integral part of the Consumer Bureau’s strategy to understand the financial challenges our servicemembers, veterans, and their families face throughout their military lifecycle. It’s also central to our education mission. We are honored to serve those who answered the call of military service on behalf of a grateful nation. 

If you’re interested in learning more, we encourage you to visit OSA’s recent military education video on financial well-being and sign up for updates on OSA’s webpage—you’ll automatically be notified when OSA releases further analysis along with other important announcements.

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