10 Best Benefits for Military Members and Their Families

Service members face a range of threats – from the lethal to the financial. An array of military benefits and programs are meant to offset some of the risk for them, their spouses and their families.

service member with child
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Members of the military have a lot of special financial challenges that most people don’t encounter. However, they have access to many benefits, tax breaks and legal protections.

Here are 10 of the best military benefits available to service members and how to make the most of them to improve your family’s financial future. The co-authors of this piece, Lisa Gerstner and Kim Lankford, have direct experience: Lisa’s husband is an Air National Guard instructor pilot who has flown more than 200 combat missions and Kim’s husband was an Army doctor for decades who deployed three times. Many of these resources and benefits have helped their families significantly over the years.

Kimberly Lankford
Contributing Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance

As the "Ask Kim" columnist for Kiplinger's Personal Finance, Lankford receives hundreds of personal finance questions from readers every month. She is the author of Rescue Your Financial Life (McGraw-Hill, 2003), The Insurance Maze: How You Can Save Money on Insurance -- and Still Get the Coverage You Need (Kaplan, 2006), Kiplinger's Ask Kim for Money Smart Solutions (Kaplan, 2007) and The Kiplinger/BBB Personal Finance Guide for Military Families. She is frequently featured as a financial expert on television and radio, including NBC's Today Show, CNN, CNBC and National Public Radio.