The pandemic has meant financial problems for those in the military just like everyone else.
So Prudential and the federal Department of Veterans Affairs are joining forces to offer financial services to vets, such as credit counseling, help with student loan debt, and an online budgeting tool.
“What we’ve seen is especially with Covid has been a growing need and a recognition that something like this, financial wellness, is ‘Something I should take a look at’ as more and more people are just finding challenges,” said Jim Beamesderfer, head of veterans programs at Prudential, “they might have a spouse who is now unemployed.”
The programs that will be offered jointly between Prudential and the V-A begin in March. Beamesderfer said the partnership with the V-A will make them more visible.
“Some veterans use one or more different organizations to get their care and their needs taken care of,” he said, “and by having a wider net we’re more likely to catch a greater percentage of those 18 million-plus veterans across the United States.”
Beamesderfer said vets can be a hard group to reach. “One thing we have in general with the military community,” he said, “is a lot of times a reluctance to raise their hand and ask for help, and its sort of the military mentality, if you will, of ‘I need to be strong, I can’t be seen as weak, I can’t be seen as needing help.’”