Veterans: An Overlooked Opportunity?

Memorial Day, an official US holiday in May, honors the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. As the Afghanistan War (2001–14) continues to wind down, it's not untimely this May to look at US households with veterans—roughly one-fifth of all households.

The median age of WW II (1939–45) veterans in 2012 is 93. Veterans who served in the Korean War (1950–53) are in their eighties; veterans of both wars are members of the Greatest Generation. Of the 9 million army personnel who served between 1963 and 1975, over 2 million were drafted; 3 million US soldiers served in Southeast Asia, predominantly in Viet Nam, between 1964–75; they are Silent Generation and Older (Viet Nam–era) Baby Boomers members. According to the Veterans Administration, the veterans from these three wars (53% in 2010) will outnumber veterans of the Gulf Wars until at least 2015.

Unlike veterans of previous wars, many Viet Nam vets returned to a far different United States than the one they left. Learn more about the turbulent 1960s; MacroMonitor subscribers can download the new CFD decade-summary Timeline.

Households with older veterans have benefited from decades of economic growth and relatively good benefits and reasonable pensions for their service. Many have been able to pursue postservice jobs from which they have secured substantial assets for retirement. At present, these veterans are wealthier and better off than most of their contemporaries. As a group, households with veterans have more savings and investable, tangible, and retirement assets than many other members of their generational cohort have (although they have the same amount of debt).

Although almost two-thirds of veteran households are retired, many are comfortably so. More than half are smart shoppers and always appreciate savings and good deals. Business may win veteran customers by offering special financial services—both a patriotic act and a good business practice.