As consumers who came of age during the Great Recession, millennials are more likely than their parents to avoid risky investments, but are even more anxious to obtain personal financial information from sources they trust, Navy Federal Credit Union said Thursday.
"This generation spent their formative years during the worst economic time since the Great Depression," Navy Federal Chief Economist Alan MacEachin said upon the credit union's release of a new study on the financial habits of military and non-military millennials.
As such, millennials have far more in common with the so-called Greatest Generation than they do with their parents, the credit union said.
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Coinciding with the study was the credit union's release of a new website called Making¢ents, which is designed to provide easy-to-understand financial education for millennials. The website is open to everyone – including non-Navy Federal members – and features videos, articles, graphics and questions and answers.
The website is a response to the Navy Federal survey of 1,312 millennials – both military and non-military – conducted in October, Marcia Sanford, Navy Federal's vice president of member research, intelligence and development, said. Forrester Consulting conducted the survey.
That survey found that of the military millennials, 73% liked to do financial research on their own, 56% trusted digital advice and 58% relied on financial advice from professionals.
In addition, 60% of all millennials surveyed said they are confident that their financial institution will enable them to make better decisions on their own.
Millennials in general have an aversion to debt and a unique urgency to save for the future since they are not confident they will receive a pension or Social Security benefits when they reach retirement age, MacEachin said. They place a high priority on paying down debt and saving for their long-term goals, he added.
The survey found 93% of military millennials and 91% of non-military millennials believe it is important to build a savings or emergency fund during the next five years.
It also found 56% of military millennials and 52% of non-military millennials have thought about what their financial goals should be.
However, military millennials said they are more likely than their friends to have missed a credit card payment during the past year, taken out a payday loan or missed a mortgage payment within the past two years.
Both groups said they are worried about identification theft or fraud, but are very comfortable using their financial information on a mobile device.
Military millennials differed from their non-military friends in several other ways, according to Navy Federal. For example, they are more likely to be married and have children.
And as they likely enlisted at a relatively early age, they entered the financial market earlier than their friends.
"They have a very accelerated financial lifestyle," Matt Freeman, Navy Federal's manager of credit card products, said.
At the same time, they may have more financial security then their friends, according to Navy Federal President/CEO Cutler Dawson. They have jobs they can keep for as long as they want and will have retirement benefits and guaranteed healthcare for life.
Headquartered in Vienna, Va., Navy Federal has more than five million members and more than $73 billion in assets.
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