By Debbie Gregory.
Financial guru Suze Orman is donating her services to the active-duty Army after a similar partnership with the Army Reserve.
Orman hopes to spice up the financial advice offered through official military sources, which can be on the dry and boring side.
“For some reason, when you start to get very formal with it, people just shut off,” Orman said during a press conference at the Pentagon. “So the main thing I’m going to be bringing to them is a humanity to money, and how every one of them can obtain their dreams.”
Although Orman’s partnership is officially with the Army, all service members can access the program, which will be primarily provided through her web course on SuzeU.com using the coupon code “USA.” The program, which typically costs $54, is free for troops using the code.
Orman said she is providing all of her services, including any travel expenses, to the military at no cost.
“All of this really is on me,” she said.
Whether Orman will visit military bases to host financial seminars in person is not known at this time. But if she does offer in-person events for military members, they will likely focus on a question-and-answer format rather than a set curriculum.
The 2016 National Defense Authorization Act requires the military services to expand their financial readiness education programs in conjunction with the roll-out of the new blended retirement system.
Under that retirement system, service members who join after Jan. 1, 2018, will be automatically enrolled in the Pentagon’s Thrift Savings Plan and offered a Defense Department-match for contributions, much like a traditional employer 401(k) plan.
Some currently serving troops will be able to opt into the new system, or they can stay with the traditional military retirement pension plan, which typically requires 20 years of service to receive.
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