Did you know May is National Military Appreciation Month? The District may need to work on year-round veteran appreciation, as experts say D.C. does not do a good job of improving the quality of life of its military retirees.
Consumer finance website Wallethub released a study showing D.C. at the bottom of the list for retirement-friendly states and districts for veterans. The study included insights from a panel of experts in veteran resources, public policy, economics and financial advising.
Analyst Cassandra Happe said they focused on three key categories: economic environment, quality of life and health care.
Overall, the District ranked 48th in the U.S. The city’s veterans per capita rating came in at 46th, number of VA health facilities per number of veterans at 49th, and housing affordability at 48th.
“[D.C.] did alright when it came to the economic environment category. They ranked 32nd in that particular category. But they really struggled when it came to health care and quality of life,” Happe said.
Happe said VA hospitals need to provide better care and more facilities for the veteran population.
“Unfortunately, it’s not a very positive message for military retirees in the D.C. area to see this much of a disparity between the number of veterans and the services they can have access to,” Happe said.
Happe said when you look at a study like this, there’s a lot of different agencies and entities involved in the policies that support veterans.
“These veterans have sacrificed a part of their life just to keep us safe. We really owe it to them to provide the best quality of services,” Happe said.
For retirees that don’t want to wait on policy changes, they can always settle in nearby Virginia or Maryland.
Virginia ranked at 3rd overall for the best states for retired veterans, with a high health care rating. Maryland ranked at 4th overall, with the best quality of life ranking in the study.
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