RAND Europe examined the size, demographics and support needs of current and former RAF personnel and their families for the RAF Benevolent Fund. The study investigated topics including health, relationships, employment, finances, housing, future worries, transition and access to support services. This research will inform future welfare planning and service delivery across the wider RAF community.

Meeting the Needs of the RAF Community

Linda Slapakova, Catherine Galley, Sean Flanagan, Tristan Kreetz

ResearchPublished Aug 10, 2026

Cover: Meeting the Needs of the RAF Community
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Includes Executive Summary

The Royal Air Force (RAF) Benevolent Fund and the wider RAF welfare sector provide support to a sizeable community of Serving and former-Serving RAF personnel and their families. To inform future strategic planning around the delivery of support to the community, the RAF Benevolent Fund commissioned RAND Europe to undertake research into the evolving size, demographics and support needs of the RAF community.

To inform the RAF Benevolent Fund’s welfare support and strategy development, we used a mixed methods research design, drawing on existing research and newly collected quantitative and qualitative data. Firstly, we used modelling and simulation approaches to forecast the size and demographics of the RAF community out to 2040. Secondly, we conducted a survey with Serving RAF personnel and partners to understand the prevalence of issues among a sample of the RAF Serving Community and identify relationships between support needs and respondents’ demographic and Service characteristics. Thirdly, we conducted interviews with Serving as well as ex-Serving RAF personnel and partners to explore their experiences of Service, challenges experienced during and after Service and their understanding and experiences of the support available to them. Throughout the project, we engaged with stakeholders to inform our research design, validate findings and ensure the relevance of our recommendations.

Key Takeaways

Our research suggests that the size and demographics of the Regular RAF community may not change substantially out to 2040. The size of the Reserve RAF community is more uncertain, with recent declines in the size of the Volunteer Reserves and ambitions to increase the size of the Volunteer Reserves in the 2030s. The RAF former Serving community is shrinking and is expected to become smaller, younger, and more diverse by 2040. One important characteristic of the Veteran community will be its intergenerational makeup.

RAND’s research with Serving Personnel and partners revealed a broad spectrum of experiences. Many expressed a strong sense of pride in their service, yet they also encountered difficulties due to frequent moves and separation from loved ones. The study found that financial concerns, employment opportunities for partners, and affordable childcare all play a role in shaping the wellbeing of the Serving community. Among partners, loneliness and mental health issues appear to be common, often connected to heavy workloads and the demands of childcare, which in turn affect overall wellbeing.

Among the former Serving community, the transition from military to civilian life remained a defining pressure point at which many former SP and their families may require additional support, particularly for those experiencing abrupt and unplanned departures. Existing data and responses from our interviewees highlighted heightened risk of mental health conditions, growing concerns around social isolation and loneliness and concerns around financial security.

Recommendations

  • Continue providing comprehensive physical and mental health support services for Service personnel and former Service personnel and mitigate barriers to help-seeking.
  • Consider expanding social and mental health support for partners, particularly for loneliness and social isolation, and support community development.
  • Reinforce partner employment support and efforts to address structural barriers for partners’ ability to find suitable employment and develop a longer-term career.
  • Identify ways to help improve access to affordable childcare for Serving and former-Serving families, supplementing statutory childcare provision.
  • Continue providing support for Service children as well as resources to support RAF parents’ ability to help their children cope with the demands of Service life.
  • Identify options for effectively complementing MOD-provided transition support.
  • Strengthen support provision for the bereaved community and those with caring responsibilities to mitigate the impacts of bereavement and caregiving strain on the RAF community.
  • Continue identifying and sharing best practices in information provision and signposting for the RAF community to increase awareness of the full range of available support.

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund
  • Publisher: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web-Only
  • Year: 2026
  • Pages: 148
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA3197-1
  • Document Number: RR-A3197-1

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Slapakova, Linda, Catherine Galley, Sean Flanagan, and Tristan Kreetz, Meeting the Needs of the RAF Community. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2026. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3197-1.html.
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This research was funded by Greenwich Hospital and conducted by the Defence, Security and Justice Program within RAND Europe.

This publication is part of the RAND research report series. Research reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND research reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.

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