The particular nature of life in the Armed Forces, such as high levels of mobility, may contribute to financial difficulties for some individuals and their partners while in service and upon transition into civilian life. This study seeks to understand how military life can affect financial stability, to determine if there is a problem and, if so, to examine potential interventions that could help current and former Service personnel and their families.

Ray Lock, Chief Executive of FiMT says: “Previous research has indicated that some Armed Forces families may lack financial stability and face challenges including debt and poverty when transitioning from the Armed Forces to civilian life. This important piece of research builds on previous FiMT work and will help to shed light on the nature of the financial challenges experienced, the causes and, most importantly, what can be done to support the Armed Forces families who are struggling.”

RAND Europe study leader Stella Isaac says: “We are pleased to have the support of FiMT and to be working with the Army Families Federation in exploring this important issue. There is a lack of research on financial stability for current and former Service personnel and spouses as a whole, and this project aims to fill this gap and to aid in improving policy in this area.”

“A deeper understanding of the financial situation of military families and the factors involved is vital for informing the development or improvement of financial support mechanisms, which could in turn contribute to the smoother transition of personnel and their families from the Service to post-Service life.”

About the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT):

FiMT came about from a partnership between the Big Lottery Fund (‘the Fund’), Cobseo (The Confederation of Service Charities) and other charities and organisations. FiMT continues the Fund’s long-standing legacy of support for veterans across the UK with an endowment of £35 million awarded in 2012. http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/.

The mission of FiMT is to enable ex-Service personnel and their families to make a successful and sustainable transition to civilian life, and it delivers this mission by generating an evidence base that influences and underpins policy making and service delivery.

FiMT awards grants (for both responsive and commissioned work) to support its change model around six outcomes in the following areas: Housing; Employment; Health and wellbeing; Finance; Criminal Justice System; and Relationships. All work is published in open access and hosted on the Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre’s Veterans and Families Research Hub. A high standard of reportage is demanded of all grant holders so as to provide a credible evidence base from which better informed decisions can be made.

Useful links:

Website: www.fim-trust.org

Reports: www.fim-trust.org/reports/

Who we have helped: www.fim-trust.org/who-we-have-helped/

Twitter: @FiMTrust

About RAND Europe:

RAND Europe is a not-for-profit research organisation whose mission is to help improve policy and decision making through research and analysis.

Useful links:

Website: www.randeurope.org.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RANDEurope