Supporting Coast Guard Families Navigating the Complicated Process of Handling Final Affairs (11:18)
Survivors often feel paralyzed and ill-equipped to deal with the time-sensitive, critical matters following their spouse’s death
Broadcast Retirement Network’s Jeffrey Snyder discusses how the Coast Guard educates members about handling final affairs with Robert C. Hinds, U.S. Coast Guard
Jeffrey H Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
This morning on BRN, supporting Coast Guard families navigating the complicated process of final affairs. And joining me now to discuss this and a lot more, Robert Hines is the U.S. Coast Guard Retiree Services Program Manager. Bob, great to see you.
Thanks for joining us in the program this morning.
Robert C. Hinds, U.S. Coast Guard
Well, thank you very much for having me. I look forward to the interview.
Jeffrey H Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah, we’re going to have a good conversation today. And as I was telling you in the virtual green room, we’ve had conversations on the network before about estate planning and its importance. But how much more important is it for our men and women in the U.S. Coast Guard?
Robert C. Hinds, U.S. Coast Guard
Well, thank you for asking that. It is highly relevant and important, particularly to military personnel from a readiness standpoint, particularly mission readiness. It’s been noted and studied that financial readiness among our troops, including a basic estate plan, is directly correlated to a soldier-sailor, in this case, a Coastie’s readiness to perform their job, even as it relates to security clearances.
So we’re trying to foster a culture with this military personnel estate planning guide within the Coast Guard where we started 18, 19 years old at the accession points, just building that culture.
Jeffrey H Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah. And just to follow up on that, you talk about the deployment readiness. Part of that, I have to assume there’s a physical element, but there’s also an emotional and mental element to that.
So if you know that everything is buttoned up, so to speak, at home with an estate plan, financial plan, et cetera, you’re probably going to perform better in your job day-to-day with the U.S. Coast Guard.
Robert C. Hinds, U.S. Coast Guard
Well, 100%. And having experienced 30 years active duty military with the Coast Guard myself, I learned that firsthand as I deployed and left my wife and two children at home. And some of the missions, I wasn’t deployed overseas in combat, but to your point, I wanted to know that things were good at home and God forbid anything happened that everything was going to be taken care of.
And we want to foster that culture within our folks, Coast Guard-wide, but particularly for those that deployed.
Jeffrey H Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah. Really, really important. And staying focused, being able to do your job.
It’s a very, not having served, but it is a very difficult job to keep the mainland safe. Let’s talk about this handbook. What went into the creation of the handbook?
This is something for men and women in the U.S. Coast Guard, their families, but what went into the development of the handbook itself?
Robert C. Hinds, U.S. Coast Guard
Good question. And it’s been something that’s been evolving over the past several years, maybe even longer. One of my roles as the Coast Guard Retiree Services Program Manager is to facilitate and support communications with our retiree community, approximately 65,000 retirees, annuitants, survivors, and to keep in tune to their issues and concerns and to communicate those to the Commandant of the Coast Guard, which I have as a partner in that effort, the Coast Guard National Retiree Council, which is comprised of volunteers who continue to support the Coast Guard in a retirement capacity. To your point and your question, over the years, we’ve experienced more and more calls from retirees, specifically survivors, upon the passing of their spouse, a retiree, very much feeling in a panic, helpless.
Hey, my husband, Chief Smith, just passed away. We never discussed final affairs. I have no idea what to do.
Would you walk me through the process? So in an effort to better address that and support our retiree community, the Coast Guard National Retiree Council, in particular, briefed the Commandant that they were going to make development of this guide a priority, which the Commandant fully supported.
Jeffrey H Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah, I can’t imagine not being in support of something like this, especially as you think about the benefits that are being offered to the Coast Guard, men and women. They might have a pension. They may be part of the blended retirement system.
So they might have a TSP account and they might have outside assets. They might have a home. They might have cars and other property.
That all needs to be figured out in terms of who gets what if something should happen.
Robert C. Hinds, U.S. Coast Guard
No, you’re right. Back to the handbook. And I guess it’s the spirit and nature of the handbook that it’s not an official guide, if you will.
It’s to help connect folks with helpful resources, subject matter experts who are expert in those fields. And I think also it’s to convey a clear message to the both active duty reserve and retired community that we care and we’re here to support you and we want to do whatever we can to help connect you with needed resources.
Jeffrey H Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
So you mentioned the resources. Are there parties internal at the Coast Guard or part of the broader federal government that can make themselves available? For example, crafting a estate plan and a will and a directive and all that kind of stuff, that takes time, that takes expertise.
I’m not sure how or where it exists in the federal government, but your team or the team within the Coast Guard actually can direct people to where they may need to go to to figure things out.
Robert C. Hinds, U.S. Coast Guard
Yes, we can. And that’s another important item that’s included in the handbook. I’ll use myself as an example.
I waited too long to do some important estate planning myself. But more to your question, Coast Guard legal officers are available to the entire Coast Guard and retirees to help in the development of an advanced medical directive and a will and estate planning. I took advantage of that.
I’m 71 years old, but about 15 years ago, I finally got around to taking advantage of that and put together that with the help of a Coast Guard legal officer. All the other uniformed services have those same resources available to them.
Jeffrey H Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
And just, I should have asked you this at the beginning, but what’s the typical age range of a member of the serving active member of the U.S. Coast Guard? Is it 18 to 55?
Robert C. Hinds, U.S. Coast Guard
You know, that’s an excellent question. And I don’t know, I don’t want to just shoot from the hip on that answer. Folks will typically serve for 20 to 30 years.
So assuming they’re enlisting or assessing through the Coast Guard Academy between 18 and 20, they’re in their mid 40s to 50. Some of our senior officers have more than 35 years in the Coast Guard, our flag officers. So I wish I could give you a better estimate as far as what the mean age is in the Coast Guard.
But I know retirees that come into my area of responsibility are typically mid to late 40s and older.
Jeffrey H Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah. And I guess my point was, this is probably something that you probably want to figure out and evolve as when you’re just entering, you’re figuring, you know, you’re figuring out, you know, if you’re not married, if you are married, where things go. And then as your life progresses and career progresses through the U.S. Coast Guard, you’re probably changing things along the way. So that new Coast Guard member probably wants to think about this. So they should be focused on this as well.
Robert C. Hinds, U.S. Coast Guard
Oh, yes. Yes. And I should have better answered that question.
Yes. So that’s why we’re starting at the accession points. Our hope is to start at those accession points, like basic training, a training center, Cape May, the Coast Guard Academy, as our 18 to 22 year olds are coming in, start to underscore the importance of this.
But I think back to what you just said, it’s going to be a lifelong process. OK, you got married. Now you have children and just, I guess, stay connected with them throughout their career.
Jeffrey H Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
You know, we have talked with other member, other branches of the military, and we’ve actually also talked with the Andy Cohen, who was the leader of the Office of Financial Readiness. There’s a lot of effort by the Department of Defense and the U.S. government to focus on the financial readiness of our servicemen and women. How are we doing?
Are we doing a good job in getting information out? It looks like it based on the handbook that you and the team created.
Robert C. Hinds, U.S. Coast Guard
That’s another excellent question that I can’t answer definitively. I can speak for the Coast Guard and I’ll use one of my previous jobs as an active duty member. I was a chief warrant officer that handled enlisted assignments.
So I deployed and gave permanent changeable station orders to enlisted members. One of the criteria to deploying members, sending them overseas, was they had to have their financial house in order. So that was a conversation that I had with their supervisors.
In the seven years that I did that job, I think in only rare occasions encountered an instance where a member, because of his or her financial situation, was not ready to be deployed overseas. But I can’t tell you overall as far as the other services in the Coast Guard, but I know that the commandant went so far about five years ago to deploy and I guess put in place a financial readiness office and team. So they’re redoubling efforts to make sure that our Coast Guard members have their financial house in order.
Jeffrey H Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
That’s great. And hopefully, I believe, anecdotally speaking, just having interviewed and talked with some of the other branches that it is happening everywhere, that’s a great thing. Now, if we could just get the civilians to do the same thing, we’ll all have our financial house in order.
Bob, we’re going to have to leave it there. So great to see you. Great work on the handbook for you and the team.
And we look forward to having you back on the program again very soon.
Robert C. Hinds, U.S. Coast Guard
Well, thank you very much. You take care.
Jeffrey H Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
We’re back again tomorrow for another edition of BRN. Until then, I’m Jeff Snider. Stay safe, keep on saving, and don’t forget, roll with the changes.