FINANCIAL TOOLS & RESOURCES
MANAGING YOUR FINANCES IN THE MILITARY
Curated financial tools and resources for serving personnel, veterans, reservists and their families. Every tool on this page is free and independently provided. We have explained what each one does and why it matters specifically for military life — so you can go straight to what you need.
9
Free tools & resources
All Free
independently provided
Military
specific content
FINANCIAL TOOLS & RESOURCES
MANAGING YOUR FINANCES IN THE MILITARY
Curated financial tools and resources for serving personnel, veterans, reservists and their families. Every tool on this page is free and independently provided. We have explained what each one does and why it matters specifically for military life — so you can go straight to what you need.
9
Free tools & resources
All Free
independently provided
Military
specific content
Know where your money goes — and what you can do with it
Understanding your income and spending is the foundation of financial resilience. Military life brings specific complexities — variable pay during deployments, operational allowances, accommodation charges, frequent moves — that make budgeting harder than for most civilians, and more important.
Budget Planner
MoneyHelper’s free online budget planner takes you through all your income and outgoings and shows you where your money is going, where you could save, and what you have left over. You can save your progress and return at any time. Results are confidential and not shared.
Why this matters for military personnel: JPA pay can fluctuate significantly — operational allowances, LOA, disturbance allowances, accommodation charges and X-Factor all affect your take-home. The budget planner helps you build a realistic picture of your actual financial position rather than assumptions based on basic pay alone. Particularly useful when planning for a posting, a transition to civilian life, or a period of reduced pay.
- Breakdown of income vs spending by category
- Personalised suggestions for improvement
- Save your budget and revisit it anytime
- Adjust time periods per income/expense type
- Government-backed — completely independent
Full Tools & Calculators Suite
MoneyHelper provides a full suite of free financial calculators covering budgeting, savings, debt, pensions, mortgages, benefits, redundancy pay, salary comparisons and more. If you need to model a financial decision — whether to overpay a mortgage, how much to save for retirement, what you might owe in tax — there is almost certainly a free tool here for it.
- Salary calculator (take-home pay)
- Pension and retirement planner
- Mortgage calculator
- Debt and repayment tools
- Benefits calculator for low-income households
- Savings and interest rate calculators
Find out what you are actually entitled to
Serving personnel and veterans are eligible for a range of benefits and grants that many do not claim — either because they don’t know about them or because the application process seems daunting. These tools help you identify what you may be owed.
Veterans & Serving Personnel Benefits Calculator
Why this matters: Standard benefits calculators are not built for military pay structures. The Turn2Us Armed Forces tool understands operational allowances, LOA, AFCS payments and the interaction between military pay and benefit eligibility. It will tell you — based on your actual circumstances — what you may be entitled to, and link you directly to application processes.
- Dedicated Armed Forces and veteran filter
- Accounts for military-specific income and allowances
- Identifies grants as well as state benefits
- Links to application guidance for each benefit
- Available for serving personnel, veterans and families
Your military pension — understanding what you have built
The Armed Forces Pension is one of the most valuable elements of military service — but it is also one of the least understood. AFPS 75, AFPS 05 and AFPS 15 have significantly different structures, and decisions made about early departure, breaks in service or pension commutation can have a long-term financial impact that is difficult to reverse.
Forces Pension Society
Key questions they can help with: What is my Immediate Pension Point? How does AFPS 15 compare to what I would have had under AFPS 05? Should I commute part of my pension for a lump sum? What is my pension worth if I leave early? What happens to my pension if I am medically discharged?
- AFPS 75, AFPS 05 and AFPS 15 coverage
- Early departure and redundancy guidance
- Pension commutation and lump sum advice
- Medical discharge pension implications
- Survivor benefit guidance for families
- Free member support and guidance service
Pension Planning Tools & Pension Wise
MoneyHelper provides free pension planning tools and hosts Pension Wise — a government service that offers free, impartial guidance on your pension options when you reach retirement age. Particularly useful for those who hold both a military pension and a civilian pension, or who are planning their finances through the transition from service.
- Pension planning and projection tools
- Pension Wise — free guidance appointments
- State pension age and entitlement guidance
- Pension tracing service — find lost pensions
- Retirement income calculator
When you need more than a calculator
Sometimes financial difficulty requires human support, not just a tool. These organisations exist specifically to help serving personnel, veterans and their families — and their services are free.
Royal British Legion Financial Support
The Royal British Legion (RBL) provides wide-ranging financial assistance, welfare support and advice to serving personnel, veterans and their dependants. This includes grants, debt advice, benefits claim support, and one-to-one welfare assistance for those in financial difficulty. Their welfare team can provide direct, practical help — not just signposting.
They can help with: Financial hardship grants, help navigating benefits and pension claims, support for families of those who have been injured or killed in service, debt advice and housing support.
- Financial grants for those in hardship
- Benefits and pension claim assistance
- Welfare advice for families
- Housing support guidance
- Mental health and wellbeing support links
SSAFA Financial Assistance & Welfare
SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association) has been supporting the Armed Forces community since 1885. They offer one-to-one casework support for anyone in the military community facing financial difficulty, housing issues, or welfare challenges — including access to grants from a wide network of military charities. SSAFA caseworkers are available in most areas and on many bases.
- One-to-one casework support nationwide
- Access to military charity grants and funds
- Housing, debt and welfare guidance
- Caseworkers available on or near most bases
- Support for families as well as serving personnel
Free Debt Advice & Money Guidance
If you are struggling with debt, MoneyHelper can connect you with free, regulated debt advice services. They also provide guidance on debt options including debt management plans, breathing space, and formal insolvency procedures — without the commercial pressure of for-profit debt management firms.
Important for military personnel: Some debt solutions can affect your security clearance. Before entering any formal debt arrangement, seek advice from a specialist who understands the implications for your career. MoneyHelper can connect you with free advisers — always seek specialist military welfare advice alongside standard debt advice if your clearance may be affected.
- Free debt advice referral
- Debt options explained impartially
- No commercial pressure — government-backed
- Breathing space scheme guidance
- Debt management and repayment planning
StepChange Debt Advice
StepChange is the UK’s largest debt charity, providing free, expert debt advice to over 600,000 people every year. Their advisers are trained, regulated and completely independent — they have no commercial interest in which solution they recommend. You can get advice online via their debt assessment tool, by phone, or by webchat. They will assess your full situation and recommend the right debt solution for your circumstances.
Important for serving personnel: Some formal debt solutions — including IVAs and bankruptcy — can affect your security clearance and in some cases your continued service. StepChange advisers will help you understand all your options, including informal solutions that carry fewer career risks. Always raise any clearance concerns with a StepChange adviser before entering a formal arrangement, and speak to your welfare officer or SSAFA in parallel.
- Free, regulated debt advice — no fees, ever
- Online debt assessment tool available 24/7
- Phone and webchat advice available
- Debt management plans arranged at no cost
- Covers all debt types — credit cards, loans, overdrafts, council tax
- Fully independent — no commercial interest in outcome
Need a human conversation?
The tools above are excellent starting points, but sometimes you need to talk to someone who understands the specific pressures of military life. Absolute Military offers free one-to-one financial adviser appointments to all members — face to face on camp, over the phone or virtually. Our advisers understand JPA pay, AFPS pensions, Help to Buy, overseas postings and the financial challenges of military life. Membership is free.
Frequently Asked Questions
What financial benefits can serving military personnel claim?
Serving personnel may be eligible for Universal Credit (depending on household income), Child Benefit, council tax relief during deployment, Forces Help to Buy, and a range of operational allowances that are paid through JPA. Veterans may additionally be eligible for Veterans UK payments, the Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP) for those with serious injuries, and charitable grants through the Royal British Legion, SSAFA, and hundreds of regimental and corps charities. The Turn2Us Armed Forces benefits calculator is the best starting point for a personalised assessment.
How do I find out what my Armed Forces pension is worth?
The Forces Pension Society provides free, independent guidance on all three Armed Forces pension schemes — AFPS 75, AFPS 05 and AFPS 15. For a formal pension forecast, you can also request one through Veterans UK via your unit admin office, or through the JPA portal. The forecast will show your projected benefits based on your current reckonable service and scheme. Understanding your Immediate Pension Point — the date from which you would receive pension payments if you leave — is particularly important when considering career decisions.
Can debt affect my security clearance?
Debt itself is not automatically disqualifying for security clearance, but certain patterns — particularly undisclosed debt, county court judgments, or formal insolvency — can raise concerns during vetting. If you are considering a formal debt management arrangement, individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) or bankruptcy, seek welfare advice from SSAFA or the RBL before proceeding, and inform your chain of command as appropriate. Free debt advice from MoneyHelper can help you understand your options without committing to any formal arrangement prematurely.
What is MoneyHelper and is it trustworthy?
MoneyHelper is a government-backed service provided by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions. It replaced the Money Advice Service, the Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise in 2021. All guidance and tools are free, impartial and independent — MoneyHelper has no commercial products to sell and no financial interest in the guidance it provides. Absolute Military works in partnership with the Money and Pensions Service.
The tools and resources on this page are provided by independent third parties — MoneyHelper (the Money and Pensions Service), Turn2Us, the Forces Pension Society, the Royal British Legion, SSAFA and StepChange. Absolute Military has curated and contextualised these links for the military community but is not responsible for the content, accuracy or availability of any external website. None of the above constitutes financial advice. Absolute Military (Just Advice Solutions Ltd, FCA No. 796907) can provide regulated financial advice on insurance products. For investment, pension and mortgage advice, we can introduce you to specialist regulated advisers.
Related Protection Products
CRITICAL ILLNESS
Serious & Critical Illness
Military Critical illness and Serious illness cover are types of long-term protection that provide financial security in the event of you suffering a Serious Illness.
ACCIDENT COVER
Military Personal Accident Insurance
Absolute Militarys Personal Accident Insurance gives you peace of mind should you or a member of your family suffer a personal accident.
MORTGAGES
Military Mortgages
Whether you are buying your first home, remortgaging, or moving, our expert mortgage provider is here to find the best military mortgage for you
OUR PROMISE
Claims Charter
At Absolute we know claims will happen and in order to be with you every step of the way we have made some clear commitment.
Get your free quote in 5 minutes
No obligation. No jargon. Just clear, honest advice from specialists who understand service life.