Members of the military are increasingly worried about how theyare going to make ends meet in retirement, according to a newreport.

A survey from the First Command Financial Behaviors Index showedthat 68% of middle-class military families — which includes seniornon-commissioned officers and commissioned officers with incomesabove $50,000 a year — agree that today's active military will notbe able to retire as comfortably as prior generations.

That was an increase of 11 percentage points from last year'ssurvey.

Downsizing of the Defense Department and cuts being made becauseof congressional haggling have led more than one-third of militaryfamilies to believe they will be living on reduced retirementbenefits.

Despite the gloomy outlook about reduced future benefits, 92% ofmiddle-class military households say they have retirement savingsoutside of their military pension and Social Security. Of those whoexpect to reach full retirement status, 43% say theirpost-retirement income will come from non-military sources.

Seventy-three percent say they have 401(k) accounts, 62% saythey have IRAs, 19% have profit-sharing accounts and 19% havenon-military pension funds.

“The uncertainty surrounding sequestration and militaryretirement benefits is fueling concerns in many military families,”said Scott Spiker, CEO of First Command Financial Services Inc. inFort Worth, Texas. “Half of families report feeling anxious aboutsequestration.

“The good news is that these families are taking positiveactions to protect their fiscal health, including cutting back oneveryday spending and amassing assets for their retirement years.They are preparing for an uncertain financial future by gettingtheir family finances squared away now. ”

Compiled by Sentient Decision Science Inc., the First CommandFinancial Behaviors Index assesses trends among the Americanpublic's financial behaviors, attitudes and intentions through amonthly survey of approximately 530 U.S. consumers aged 25 to 70with annual household incomes of at least $50,000, First Commandsaid.

This article was originally posted at BenefitsPro.com, a sister siteof Credit UnionTimes.