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American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association (AAFMAA) is a Virginia-based not-for-profit,
tax-exempt Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...
, member-owned association that provides diversified financial services, including life insurance,
investing Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing i ...
and trust services,
mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...
services, and survivor services to the U.S. Armed Forces communities. At the end of 2019, Membership exceeded 85,000 AAFMAA was founded in 1879 by a group of Army officers in response to the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn to provide financial assistance to the families of deceased soldiers. AAFMAA has since expanded to offer wealth management, trust, and mortgage services to past and present members of the Armed Forces.


History

AAFMAA was established on January 13, 1879, in response to the 1876
Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...
to provide financial assistance to the families of deceased soldiers. The founding documents of the association were prepared by a committee of
Army Officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an Military, armed force or Uniformed services, uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant off ...
s chaired by Brigadier General Roger Jones. The association was originally called the Army Mutual Aid Association and Membership was only open to members of the Army. In 1984, Membership expanded to include Air Force officers and the name was changed to Army and Air Force Mutual Aid Association (AAFMAA) in 1987. In 1995, Membership expanded to include non-commissioned Officers and, in 2000, Membership expanded again to include enlisted ranks. In September 2011, Membership expanded to include service members of the
Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...
,
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
and
Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
. As of 2020, Membership includes all members of the United States Armed Forces who are on
active duty Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, the equivalent term is active service. India The Indian Armed Forces are considered to be o ...
,
retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
, guard, reserves, students of the service academies, ROTC cadets, and honorably discharged veterans. To reflect the expansion in Membership, the association's name was changed to American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association on June 12, 2013. AAFMAA is headquartered at
Fort Myer, Virginia Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U.S. Army post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and Fort Whipple, ...
with additional offices in Reston, Virginia; Fayetteville, North Carolina; and Morrisville, North Carolina. In 2009, AAFMAA formed AAFMAA Member and Survivor Benefits LLC. As of July 2010, AAFMAA Member and Survivor Benefits provide AAFMAA's grandfathered Members and the surviving widows and widowers of deceased AAFMAA Members with education and assistance of government and military benefits. In 2012, AAFMAA formed AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC (AWM&T) to provide financial planning, investment management, and trust services to Members. AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC is a North Carolina chartered trust company headquartered in Fayetteville, North Carolina with a branch office in Reston, Virginia. In 2016, AAFMAA formed AAFMAA Mortgages Services LLC (AMS) to provide mortgage products to Members. AMS has locations and/or local Military Mortgage Advisors in Morrisville, North Carolina; Fayetteville, North Carolina; Wilmington, North Carolina; Tempe, Arizona; Denver, Colorado; Dallas, Texas; Reston, Virginia; and Virginia Beach, Virginia to provide assistance and services to Members.


Lines of business

Life Insurance: AAFMAA's offerings include whole life and term insurance. AAFMAA policies do not include a war clause, terrorist clauses, or aviation clauses or exclusions. In 2019, AAFMAA had over 121,000 policies in force and $25.1 billion insurance in force. Living Services: Living services include document storage in AAFMAA's digital and physical vaults, personal affairs planning information, including estimates of Social Security, survivor benefits, insurance coverage, and projected college costs, insurance counseling, pre-retirement/separation from service briefings, representation with the
Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...
(VA) for claims. Survivor Assistance Services: Survivor Assistance Services are included with every Membership, including payment of AAFMAA death benefit, VA claims initiation, VA claims representation, lifetime individualized benefit notification, Social Security notification, Financial Awareness Service and an annual statement of spouse entitlements. Wealth Management and Trust Services: AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC (AWM&T) provides financial planning, investment management, and trust services to Members. In 2019, AWM&T had $74 million Member assets under management. AWM&T has offices in Fayetteville, North Carolina and Reston, Virginia and representatives located throughout the country, often near
military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...
s, to provide assistance and services to Members. Financial planning services include assessment of Member net worth, cash flow, insurance, education funding,
retirement planning Retirement planning, in a financial context, refers to the allocation of savings or revenue for retirement. The goal of retirement planning is to achieve financial independence. The process of retirement planning aims to: *Assess readiness-to-ret ...
, and
estate planning Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging, during a person's life, for the management and disposal of that person's estate during the person's life, in the event the person becomes incapacitated and after death. The planning inc ...
. Investment management includes
asset allocation Asset allocation is the implementation of an investment strategy that attempts to balance risk versus reward by adjusting the percentage of each asset in an investment portfolio according to the investor's risk tolerance, goals and investment t ...
, investments monitoring, portfolio repositioning and takes into account
risk tolerance In economics and finance, risk aversion is the tendency of people to prefer outcomes with low uncertainty to those outcomes with high uncertainty, even if the average outcome of the latter is equal to or higher in monetary value than the more ...
, investment restrictions, and investment objectives. An
Investment Policy Statement Regulations There are two levels of legal and regulatory oversight: the legal requirements for clients who are fiduciaries or trustees for an account, and the regulations applicable to an advisor's practice. It is important to understand the requ ...
(IPS) is developed for each Member at the beginning of the relationship. Trust services include estate planning support and complete trust services, including acceptance of assignment as
trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...
, and trust asset management and administration. AWM&T can act as a trustee with most trust types, including revocable living, irrevocable, charitable remainder, charitable lead, testamentary, special needs, irrevocable life insurance, court-appointed, and foundations. Mortgage Services: AAFMAA Mortgage Services LLC (AMS) provides Members with mortgage loans to build, buy or refinance a home. This includes
VA loan A VA loan is a mortgage loan in the United States guaranteed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The program is for American veterans, military members currently serving in the U.S. military, reservists and select surviving s ...
s, FHA,
USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
, a proprietary Construction Advantage loan, VA Cash Out Refinance, VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loan (IRRRL), and VA High Balance Loans. In 2020, AMS originated $233 million of residential mortgages. AMS has locations and/or local Military Mortgage Advisors in Morrisville, North Carolina; Fayetteville, North Carolina; Wilmington, North Carolina; Tempe, Arizona;
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Colorado;
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, Texas; Reston, Virginia; and Virginia Beach, Virginia to provide assistance and services to Members. AMS is a VA-approved mortgage lender and an Equal Housing Lender.


Honorable board members and chairmen

* Jack Neil Merritt was a retired U.S. Army
four-star general A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the armed services, having ranks such as (full) admiral, (full) general, colonel general, army ge ...
who has served on the board of directors for AAFMAA since 2000 and is currently the Vice Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Finance Committee. * Robert W. Sennewald is a retired U.S. Army four-star general who served as chairman of the board for AAFMAA from 2000 to 2006. * Clyde D. Eddleman was a United States Army four-star general who served as chairman of the board for AAFMAA from 1962 to 1982.
General Orders No. 22, October 5, 1992 Death of Clyde Davis Eddleman
{{Webarchive, url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20071202143042/http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/go9222.pdf , date=December 2, 2007
* John R. Guthrie was a United States Army four-star general who served on the board of directors for AAFMAA. * Walter T. Kerwin, Jr. was a United States Army four-star general and served as a member of the board of directors for AAFMAA from 1969, becoming its chairman in 1982 and serving until 1997. * Michael S. Davison was a United States Army four-star general and served as the vice chairman for AAFMAA from 1982 to 1997 and chairman from 1997 to 2000.


See also

*
Navy Mutual Aid Association Navy Mutual, originally established as Navy Mutual Aid Association (NMAA), is a nonprofit, federally tax-exempt, mutual-benefit Veterans Service Organization (VSO) It was established in 1879 by naval officers for the purpose of providing life insu ...
, similar organization for the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
, Marines, and
Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...


References


External links


AAFMAA Homepage.com
Financial services companies established in 1879 Life insurance companies of the United States Life insurance companies Insurance companies of the United States Companies based in Reston, Virginia Companies based in Virginia