Results from the 2024 Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) are now available.
The annual AFCAS is one of the main ways to gather information on the views and experiences of personnel. The information from this survey helps shape policies for training, support, and the terms and conditions of service.
Highlights:
- Overall satisfaction with pension benefits has fallen for the second year in a row, to 38%
- Nearly six in ten personnel rate their Service morale as ‘low’
- Attitudes towards pay remain at their lowest reported levels
- Satisfaction with some aspects of Service Family Accommodation has improved slightly this year
Pensions:
The report states:
“Overall satisfaction with pension benefits has fallen for the second year in a row, to 38%.
RAF personnel are the most satisfied with their pension benefits, at 47%. This compares to less than four in ten Royal Navy (39%) and Army (36%) personnel, and less than three in ten (28%) Royal Marines who are the least satisfied with their pension benefits.
These recent decreases are largely driven by Other Ranks, except amongst RAF personnel whose results remain unchanged since 2021. Results for Officers over the same period also remain unchanged.“
Our Comments:
The graph at Section 5 shows the stats, and you will notice the commissioned/non-commissioned divide which remains significant.
A drop of 3% from 41% to 38% satisfaction from last year reflects the downward trend in pay and allowance satisfaction over recent years. And while frustrations with the AFPS 15 Remedy (McCloud) may have influenced these figures, the remedy implementation is now well underway and you can read our latest sitrep on that here.
These results reinforce the importance for all serving personnel to truly understand the real value of their Armed Forces Pension and AFPS 15 in particular – so they can make fully informed decisions going forward.
Do you know the key benefits if AFPS15? Read them here.
Read the AFCAS report in full here
